


When the Lotus Blooms

by HomuraBakura



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Christmas, Dreams, F/M, Falling In Love, Magic, Reincarnation, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-28 01:38:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 101,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12595172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomuraBakura/pseuds/HomuraBakura
Summary: A dream...that's what it felt like the first time he saw her, as though he had known her once before, but could not remember where he had seen her. Had it been in a dream? Or was this the dream he was living now?





	1. A Rose In Full Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> since it's a Chrismas-y story, I thought I would save my last FF.Net import for this time of year :) looking over this now, it doesn't look so great haha; but i think it's important piece that I want represented along with the rest of my work ~

“I had a bad dream last night,” she whispered.

Her companion looked up from where he was busy piling sand in the vague shape of a pyramid. His brow furrowed, concerned.

“Why didn't you come and get me?” he asked.

She hugged her knees with her little hands, looking down at the sand. She rocked back and forth slightly. Her eyes wouldn't meet his. He frowned, and tried to reach towards her, but was just barely too far away.

“Because I dreamed that you were gone,” she said, finally. “That you were going away in the dark and I couldn't catch up. And then I couldn't see you. I was scared that if...that if I went to find you, it would be real.”

“Oh,” he said quietly.

They sat silently in the sand for a second longer.

“I promise,” he whispered.

“What?” she said.

“I promise that I won't go away. I promise that I'll stay right here.”

She blinked at him from between her knees, as though unsure of whether he was telling the truth. He nodded firmly, determined.

“I'll stay right here with you, okay?” he said. “But...but that means you have to stay, too. You can't go away either.”

A blush grew across his cheeks, and he ducked his head.

“So...what I'm saying is...let's stay together. Forever. Is...is that okay?”

She lifted her head now. Her eyes were shining with the hint of tears, but she rubbed them away with the back of her hand.

“It's a promise,” she whispered, reaching out a hand.

His uncertainly melted away, and he reached to take her outstretched hands. Their tiny fingers entwined together, holding hands across the distance of the small pyramids they had been building.

“It's a promise,” he agreed, and their hands squeezed together all the tighter, as the desert sun set in between them. 

_ But was that just a dream, or is this the dream I'm living now? _


	2. Yellow Lily in the Snow

“I told you that you should have gone to bed on time,” Yami no Yugi muttered.

Yugi groaned at the back of his mind, and Yami no Yugi grinned.

It was a cold morning. The air nipped at Yami no Yugi's nose. He buried his hands deeper into the big pockets of Yugi's long coat, and pushed his nose into the big brown scarf. It was an interesting thing to note that he was less tolerant of the cold than Yugi was, even though they shared the same body. Yami no Yugi liked to think that it was because, somehow, part of him still remembered what it was like to live in Egypt three thousand years ago. He certainly wasn't as big a fan of winter as Yugi was—part of the reason why Yugi had stayed up so late was because it had started snowing outside his window, and he had been so excited that he had had to text all of his friends about it for several hours, taking pictures to send to their phones.

The white sky stretched out above, but there were no flakes falling down now. Only the barest dusting of the white stuff covered the concrete and the rail tracks. Yami no Yugi leaned over to see farther down the railroad. He couldn't see the train yet. He checked his watch. Well, there was still ten minutes to go.

The phone in his pocket buzzed. He fished it out, grateful for the gloves even though they made texting more difficult than it already was. He still couldn't figure out how anyone could do this quickly; his thumbs were much too big for the tiny keypad. Yugi had it down, but again, it was another one of those strange quirks that the two spirits didn't share.

The screen read  _ Anzu Mazaki. _ Yami no Yugi smiled and opened it. They had been texting back and forth for the past couple of hours—what time was it in Japan right now? About...four in the afternoon, he thought. He opened the message.

_ So, you make it to the train station on time? ;D _

Yami no Yugi grinned.

_ Yes, _ he texted back.  _ Although, no thanks to Yugi, because he spent all night reading the brochures. I had to get us here. _

_ “Other meeeee,”  _ Yugi groaned.  _ “Don't tell Anzu that!” _

“Too late, I sent it,” Yami no Yugi said, grinning.

Yugi managed to surface just long enough to take control of the texting.

_ Dont listen 2 him Anzu, he lies! _

Yami no Yugi laughed as the dead-tired Yugi sank back down into his soul room and drifted back to sleep. Yami no Yugi shook his head. 

“You'd better wake up in time for classes,” Yami no Yugi said. “Because I'm not taking notes for you.”

The whistle of a steam engine caught his attention. He leaned over to see the train chugging along towards him, a column of steam puffing along behind it. It was the oldest train Yami no Yugi had ever seen, nothing at all like the sleek one that had brought them from the London airport to the small English town of Risgate.

_ I think I might like it better than the newer train, _ Yami no Yugi thought.  _ It looks a lot...gentler. _

Anzu sent one last text as the train came to a stop, and Yami no Yugi glanced at it as he filed up the steps behind the two other people who had been waiting at the station.

_ Haha, Yugi, you should listen to your other self. :3 Have fun on your first day! I want to hear all about it when you're done, no matter how late it is, okay? _

Yami no Yugi smiled—he had been doing a lot of that lately. It was honestly refreshing. After having come out of the harrowing events of Battle City just last spring and the incident with Yako Tenma and the Wicked Avatar in September, it was nice to feel so relaxed again. There hadn't been a crazy megalomaniac out to destroy him or the world in about three months. He wondered how long it would last, but the thought was an amused one. He was definitely going to enjoy this short study-abroad program in England that Yugi had managed to be selected for. The cold was a small price to pay for the quiet and calm of this small town.

He climbed onto the train and found it divided into compartments. This was a very old train, then. He hadn't thought that trains looked like this anymore, not even in England. He replied to Anzu with a quick  _ I'll be sure to let him know you said that...talk to you later  _ as his eyes scanned the train for an empty seat.

To his surprise, every compartment seemed to be full. How strange for such a small town. This train only serviced the town, too, so it wasn't like people from other towns were taking advantage of the train. He frowned, looking for a spot as the train chugged and started to move again.

Glancing into the compartments one at a time, his eyes finally caught on an empty spot.

_ Finally, _ he thought.

He pushed the door open, but then hesitated. There was someone sitting in one of the four seats. He hoped she wasn’t waiting for someone else.

“Excuse me...” he started, but then she looked up, and he felt like he had just been hit by a truck.

Her green eyes were dark enough to be mistaken for brown in the right lighting, and thick brown bangs framed a tanned, softly rounded face. Her hair lay thickly across her back and down her deep purple coat, some of the brown strands sticking out a little more than the rest, as though she hadn’t been able to get a brush all the way through it. 

For a second, he felt as though a name jumped to the tip of his tongue, and then the sensation passed. The momentary shock from meeting her gaze passed, and he realized that he had stopped breathing for a moment.

“Uh...yes?” the girl asked, pulling an a bud from her ear. Yami no Yugi startled once again, as the voice seemed familiar. Like a song he had heard in passing on the radio.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, feeling embarrassed. “Is this seat taken? Everywhere else is full.”

“Nope, it's empty,” she said. Her voice seemed almost a bit bouncy, and barely had even a hint of a British accent. It matched the little shake of her foot against the floor, as though she were unable to stay still. “Go ahead, you won't bother me.”

“Thanks,” Yami no Yugi said.

He slipped into the seat diagonal from her, closer to the door. The compartment door slid shut behind him, and an awkward silence . He could still tell that his cheeks were a bit red—how embarrassing to have just been staring at her like that.

Still...

He chanced another peek at her from under his bangs. He found her sneaking a glance at him, and then both dropped their gazes quickly. Yami no Yugi felt his face go red again, and cursed Yugi's fair skin and proneness to blushing. But he couldn't shake that weird feeling he had gotten when he first saw her. Had he seen her somewhere before? Maybe she had been on Duelist Kingdom and he had seen her in the background, or something. Or perhaps Battle City. But maybe she wasn't a duelist at all; in that case, how would he have met somebody from England?

She hadn't put her earbud back in, though, and the silence just grew and grew. He glanced up again, noting the way the light glittered across her very dark green eyes. It was that more than anything that was familiar, that particular shade of green. Had he really not seen her before today?

“Uh, I'm sorry, but have we met before?”

The words were out of his mouth before he really realizing he was speaking. The girl blinked. She smiled, a little shyly.

“Why, are you trying to pick me up?”

Now Yami no Yugi was certain that his face had gone completely red.

“N-No,” he said, feeling flustered. It was really, really rare when he was the one in control when he and Yugi met somebody new—this wasn't his element. There was no duel or game to be played and there wasn't anything threatening the world. How did Yugi go about making friends so easily? Yami no Yugi hadn't even had to officially “meet” Jonouchi and the others, it had just kind of happened. “I—I mean, not that you're not pretty, but I was really just wondering—”

But the girl was smiling widely, and Yami no Yugi realized that she was only teasing.

“It's okay,” she said, giggling. “No, I don't think we've met before...but it  _ is _ funny, cause I kind of had the same feeling about you when I saw you. Must be deja vu or something, right?”

She giggled again. The sound was relaxing, and Yami no Yugi released the breath trapped in his lungs.

“Right,” he said, feeling a little calmer. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem,” she said.

She hesitated.

“I hope you don't mind me asking, but you're not from Risgate, right? Your accent's a little different.”

“I don't mind at all; and you'd be right,” Yami no Yugi said. “I'm actually from Japan.”

“Wow!” she said, eyes widening. “That's awesome! It must be really different out here...it's more crowded there, right?”

“Much more crowded,” Yami no Yugi said fervently. “It was almost a shock to walk out into the silence when I got to the train station. It's colder here, too.”

“Oh, well, I think that's the same for everyone,” she said, laughing. “Even people from down south complain about the cold up here! Risgate's in a league of its own when it comes to winter.”

Yami no Yugi grimaced.

“I guess I'm going to have to try and get used to the cold, then,” he said.

“I moved here from Syria,” she said. “It was  _ terrible _ ! But, I guess I'm mostly used to it by now. I'm sure you'll be fine too!”

The train clattered a bit in the pause.

“So you live up here?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“Uh-huh! I've been here for about....three years now? It's great, it really is. You'll love it!”

She looked so cheerful and her eyes so bright that Yami no Yugi felt a smile coming to his own lips. Her cheer was infectious.

“What brings you so far, any road?” she asked.

“Oh, a study-abroad. Yu—I mean, I got a scholarship to take part in the high school program.”

He had to stop himself before he said “Yugi got a scholarship.” It was one thing to talk freely about his mindmate with his friends, but he had a feeling that other people wouldn't get it.

“Oh!” the girl said, clapping her hands together. “You must be going to Risgate Academy, then! That's my high school! Wow! I can't believe the coincidence!”

Yami no Yugi brightened slightly. If everyone at the school was as friendly as she was, this would be even better than he had thought.

“That really is amazing,” he said. “I guess I won't be going into school alone, then.”

“Nuh-uh! I'll make sure and show you around and stuff!” she said, looking positively radiant about the idea.

She bounced in her seat for a second—that's how excited she was.

“Oh! And that means you'll be staying with my friend Dawn! She and her dad signed up to be the host family—have you met them yet?”

“No, my flight came in late,” Yami no Yugi said. “Because of the weather...and then the trains weren't running, so we—I had to stay at a motel last night.”

It was difficult to remember that he was supposed to be Yugi, and that this girl wouldn't know that there were two of them in the same mind. He would have to be more careful.

“You'll like Dawn; she's my best friend,” she said. “Although she might overwhelm you a little, she can be really excitable!”

“You seem a little excitable yourself, Mana,” Yami no Yugi said, grinning in spite of himself.

“Well, maybe that's why Dawn and I go so well together,” she said, laughing. Then she paused. A confused looked popped into her eyes, and it only took Yami no Yugi half a beat to realize why. That made him a little confused as well.

“Did I...tell you my name?” she asked.

“I...I don't think so...” Yami no Yugi sad.

How had he known to call her Mana? Was he suddenly psychic now, too? Maybe Pegasus' eye was rubbing off on him somehow.

Then his eyes found the bag next to her, and he saw the name  _ “Mana” _ in carefully embroidered silver letters.

“Oh,” he said. “It's on your bag...I must have seen it subconsciously...”

Mana glanced down.

“Oh, right! That's gotta be it!” she said, her cheer returning in full force. “Well, let me introduce myself properly. I'm Mana Raful, pleased to meet you!”

She held out her hand and it took Yami no Yugi a moment to realized why. Feeling embarrassed again, he reached out to shake her hand.

“I'm –”

In the space of a split second, he fought with himself. On one hand, Yugi's name was about to roll of his tongue, but on the other hand, that wasn't him. Yugi was the name he shared for now but –

He suddenly didn't want to be someone else around her.

“Yami,” he said, on the spur of the moment. “Mutou Yami.”

“Nice to meet you, Yami!” Mana said. “Oh, this is so exciting! I can't wait for you to meet my friends!”

“Me neither,” Yami no Yugi said.

“I hope we're in the same class!”

“Yeah,” Yami no Yugi said, although privately he hoped not, because if they took roll call, they were certain to call Yugi's name instead, and that would bring up awkward questions.

There was a high-pitched whistling sound as the train trundled to a stop. Mana hopped up.

“Oh, we're here!”

She pulled her backpack on and then retrieved a pair of big black mittens and some fluffy earmuffs from her giant coat pockets, pulling them on.

“It's gonna be cold!” she laughed. “Come on, we don't want to be late for school!”

Despite his nervousness at this new development, Yami no Yugi couldn't help but smile. It was hard not to be happy around this girl.

A groggy voice at the back of his mind caught his attention as they navigated through the crowd of people leaving the train.

_ “Are you having fun?” _ Yugi asked.

Yami no Yugi found himself blushing again.

_ “I'm sorry, Yugi,”  _ he thought quickly.  _ “I didn't mean....I mean, I introduced myself wrong, and...” _

_ “Oh, stop it,” _ Yugi thought back at him.  _ “I'm glad! You made a friend all by yourself—congrats, other me!” _

Yami no Yugi's blush only grew deeper as Yugi added,

_ “And she's really cute, too!” _

Yami no Yugi muttered at Yugi about how that wasn't even a factor as his partner giggled and teased at the back of his head. Then Yugi popped back into his soul room to grab a few minutes more sleep, after promising to take over in time for class.

Yami no Yugi followed Mana off the train and on to the snow covered platform.

“Good morniiiiiiiing!”

The sing-song voice was accompanied by a blur of bright blue as something large tackled Mana. Mana squealed with laughter, teetering dangerously backwards. Yami no Yugi hung back, trying to hide a smile.

“Dawn!” Mana laughed. “Dawn, stooooop! That tickles! Come on, stop it!”

The girl called Dawn finally stopped in her hug attack to pop backwards.

“I see you every  _ day _ !” Mana said, her face red with the cold. “And you never stop being excited about it!”

“Life's too short not to be excited about everything!” Dawn declared.

She was about an inch taller than Mana, with blond hair that turned up at the ends, bright green eyes, and fair, pinkish skin. However, that seemed to be where their differences ended, because they were so alike in build and facial structure that they could have been sisters. She was clad in a dark blue cardigan and skirt with tall white socks—Yami no Yugi recognized that as the girl's uniform for the school he was going to be attending.

“Dawn,” Mana said, between giggles. “This is Yami. He's our exchange student for the winter!”

Dawn spun on her toes to face Yami no Yugi, her smile wide.

“Happy to meet you!” she said. “I'm Dawn Marisa Grey. You're going to be staying at my place for the term!”

“Pleased to meet you too,” Yami no Yugi said, shaking Dawn's hand. There was something remarkably familiar about this girl, too, but he decided it was probably just because she looked so much like a different colored version of Mana.

For a moment, his eyes met Dawn's, and he thought he saw a flicker of mischief and knowing there.

“So I see you've already met Mana,” Dawn said. “How ace is that?”

This British dialect was going to take some getting used to, Yami no Yugi thought wryly. He and Yugi were fine with American English, which had been taught in their school, but England seemed to use some different phrases. Also, there seemed to be something else in Dawn's tone—mischief? Joking? Perhaps she spoke like that all the time.

“Okay, come on, we don't want you to be late for your first day here!” Dawn said. “We'll be meeting the rest of the gang on the way!”

The trio headed off down the snow-covered sidewalk. A brief flutter of snowflakes drifted from above, but it appeared to just be blowing off the roofs of the buildings. The scenery was much different here than in Domino. None of the buildings were more than three stories high, and many of them were made of brick, with big windows with shutters and awnings hanging low with snow piles. There were a surprisingly number of people walking about, and soft chatter and laughter drifted down the cold street. Mana began pointing out places of note as they passed, with Dawn adding her own commentary.

“That's the barber shop there.”

“If you go make sure you get the girl with the cheek piercings, she does the best job!!”

“And across the street is White Creamery; Dawn and I like to go there for coffee before class sometimes.”

“You've never had a cappuchino before?? We'll have to fix that!”

“Oh, and this is Miss Azarola's bookstore—they have all sorts of great stuff in there.”

“But she's pretty particular about her books...like you can't open them too much or you'll break the spine or whatever!”

They kept up a pretty constant commentary as they reached the end of the street and crossed the square. There was a calm sort of pacing to the town, he thought. It was a nice change from the always moving Domino, for a little while, at least.

“And that's the Fleur de Lis, Dominic's dad's flower shop,” Mana said.

“Here he comes. Dom!” Dawn called, waving. “Hurry up!”

The shout was addressed to a young man with a mop of auburn hair, who was currently trying to push the door open past the snow that had fallen in front of it. He jogged to catch up with them.

“Morning, ladies!” he said. “And don't you just look like a beautiful pair of posies, as always.”

“Dominic likes flowers,” Dawn said. “He's  _ always _ talking about them.”

“Oh, are you the exchange student, then?” Dominic asked.

“Yes, that's me,” Yami no Yugi said. “Yami Mutou.”

“Dominic McGuire, at your service for all things flowers,” Dominic said, shaking Yami no Yugi's hand as they walked. “And I do  _ not _ talk about them all the time.”

“You do too,” Dawn said, grinning.

“I think you've managed to get every single one of your essays this year related to flowers somehow,” Mana giggled.

“They say to write what you know,” Dominic said, flipping his hair with a flourish.

They reached the other side of the square, Mana and Dawn talking the whole time, now with Dominic throwing in his interjections. Yami no Yugi just smiled and listened, completely all right with being in the background for once. He let his eyes wander to all of the places they pointed out to him, taking brief glances at the people that passed by, and....

For a moment, he caught a glimpse of light glittering across something white-blue, metallic, like some kind of white platinum. He had to stop and look, so surprised was he by the strange glimpse.

But it was gone as soon as he looked again. Had he imagined it?

A feeling grew in his stomach, like the one that he got when he had a card in his hand that he  _ thought _ was pointless, but instinct told him it would be incredibly important.

“Yami? You coming?” Mana called. “We're almost at the school!”

Yami no Yugi shook out of his reverie and hurried to catch up.

“Sorry. I thought I saw something.”

“Huh? Like what?” Mana asked.

Yami no Yugi tried to come up with an answer, but Mana's attention was quickly drawn away by the appearance of their newest friend.

“Cadence!” Mana called. “Over here!”

The girl smiled slightly. She was closing an iron gate behind her, attached to low brick walls that surrounded a rather modest looking Victorian style house in gray and white. She was taller than the other two girls by several inches, and far more slender. Her pale white fingers almost glowed against the black gate. Thick black bangs fell neatly above her gray eyes, black glasses perched on her nose. The rest of her long black hair had been pulled into a thick braid that fell across her back.

Mana trotted ahead of the group to meet her.

“Good morning, Cadence!” she said. “All right?”

“Yes, I'm fine,” Cadence said. Her British accent was far more pronounced than even Dominic's, who seemed a little more on the Irish side. There was a quietness to her tone, however, like she didn't feel the need to speak up, she just assumed that people would hear her. “And you?”

“Great!” Mana said. “Guess who we just met?”

“Who?” Cadence asked, smiling slightly, as though Mana were her hyperactive younger sister.

Mana smiled widely at Yami, gesturing towards him to come forward.

“Ta-da! This is Yami, the exchange student,” Mana said.

“Pleased to meet you,” Yami no Yugi said, extending his hand.

For a half second, Cadence did not respond to his hand. For a half second, Yami no Yugi saw her smile drop, her eyes flash, and her entire body tense up.

It only took half a second for Yami no Yugi to realize that Cadence did not like him.

But then Cadence smiled ever so slightly again—it looked pained—and took Yami no Yugi's hand.

“Cadence Mulloy,” she said, and then took her hand away from him quickly, as though he had something slimy there that she didn't want to touch.

“Okay, introductions are over!” Dawn said. “We've gotta hurry, the train came later than usual and we might be late!”

“Oh no! Come on, Cadence, we have to run!”

Cadence's smile became a little more real as Mana grabbed her hand and started off at a trot. But even as Yami no Yugi smiled at Mana's exuberance, Cadence glanced over her shoulder at him.

And there was a warning in her eyes.

Although, a warning for what....Yami no Yugi wasn't sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yellow lilies = "i'm walking on air"


	3. A Forgotten Begonia

The day had been mostly uneventful. Yugi had forgotten that you had to move from class to class, and had almost just sat there in the same classroom until Dawn, who appeared to share most classes with him, had run back to grab him. All of the classes so far had been uneventful: Yugi shared English first period with only Dawn, and as he and Yami no Yugi had worked very hard with Anzu's help during the last semester of school, he was doing fairly well speaking and reading the language. He was with Dawn and Dominic for Maths the second period. Yugi had never liked the subject and was constantly nudging Yami no Yugi mentally to help him remember a formula, which Yami no Yugi staunchly refused to give him.  _ You have to learn this by yourself, no cheating!  _ Dominic seemed to hate maths just as much, as he spent more time slipping notes back and forth to various people in the room or twiddling his pencil than actually taking notes or doing the work.

Third period had been Yugi's favorite, of course: it was the reason he had applied for the scholarship in the first place: an archeology and history class. It was a very small class with none of the friends he had met before; several of the students were much older than him, as well. Given that it was supposed to be connected to the college (too far away for many people in town to commute to on time), the small size made sense. To Yami no Yugi's relief, however, none of the teachers took a roll call.

Then came lunch, and both Yugi and Yami no Yugi were completely overwhelmed by the cafeteria.

_ “How does this even work?” _ Yugi thought frantically.  _ “Where am I supposed to go? I didn't bring a lunch so...” _

_ “I don't know either,” _ Yami no Yugi said, just as baffled by the lines and the tables. He couldn't believe that there was an entire room in the building just for having lunch. Back in Japan, they had eaten their lunch in their classroom. He supposed England had a little more space than Japan, so they were able to use it for things like this....

“Yami!”

Yugi glanced up. Yami no Yugi could feel his partner's slyness growing in the back of his head, and before he knew what was happened, Yugi had pulled back into the Puzzle and left Yami no Yugi in control, slightly disoriented and blinking against the sudden increase in light.

_ “Have fun,” _ Yugi said.  _ “Oh, yeah, and you get to figure out how the lunch room works, now.” _

_ “Just you wait, I'll switch  _ you _ out at an awkward moment next time,” _ Yami no Yugi muttered back. 

Yugi laughed at the back of his head. Yami shook his head to clear it, and then turned his attention to the person that had called his false name.

Mana was standing by one of the tables, waving her hand around to get his attention.

“Over here, over here!” she said. “Come sit with us!”

Yami no Yugi smiled slightly. Well, at least he knew people already. He wound through the crowd to make it to Mana's table. Dawn waved at him too, and Dominic grinned. Cadence appeared to be reading a book, and only gave Yami no Yugi a passing glance over the tops of her glasses before looking down again. Yami no Yugi slid into the seat next to Mana, and she popped back down too, her legs kicking back and forth excitedly. The four friends

“We saved you,” Dominic said with an exaggerated gesture. “You have no idea what bullet you just missed.”

“What?” Yami no Yugi said, surprised. For a moment, he thought Dominic meant an actual bullet, but then he translated quietly in his head and realized that it was a metaphor.

“Oh, shove off, Dom,” Dawn said. “The girls aren't that bad.”

“They would have torn you up like a pack of lionesses,” Dominic said.

“Who?” Yami no Yugi said, really confused.

Mana giggled.

“Those girls over there,” she said, pointing at a table just behind and to the right of theirs. 

Yami no Yugi glanced over surreptitiously and found that a trio of girls were glancing at him, disappointed.

“Don't worry about them,” Dawn said. “I just heard that they think you're really cute and they were going to try and get you to sit with them.”

“Pack of wolves, the lot of them,” Dominic said, nodding.

Dawn smacked him on the shoulder. Yami no Yugi couldn't help but smile. He was glad he was sitting here, at least. He didn't want to judge the other three girls just by looking at them, but he had a feeling that this table would be a much better place for him.

“Oh, did you not get your lunch yet?” Mana asked.

“Uh, no,” Yami no Yugi said. “I...I'm not sure how it works....”

“Oh!” Mana said, hopping up. “C'mon, I'll show you!”

“Thank you,” Yami no Yugi started to say, but he was cut off by the soft snap of Cadence's book closing.

“Don't, Mana, you just got your food; it will get cold,” she said. “I'll show him how it works. I have a boxed lunch; it can wait.”

For a split second, the whole table seemed to get quiet. Dawn was sending Cadence a strange look that Cadence was ignoring. Mana glanced between her two girl friends and Yami, a bit confused. Then she shrugged.

“Okay,” she said. “Don't worry, Yami, she'll probably do a better job of explaining than I will!”

“All right,” he said.

He didn't like the way that Cadence was looking at him, though. It was...expressionless. As though she were holding her emotions back, trying to keep him from reading her. He had met many people with game faces before, but none quite so hard to decipher as her's. After all, previously he had only had to figure out the feelings of his opponents, and this wasn't a game. He wondered if perhaps this was just how Cadence was, like the way Kaiba acted.

“Thank you,” he said, standing simultaneously with Cadence. “Cadence, right?”

Cadence barely acknowledged that he had spoken. She swept past him, causing him to hurry to keep up. She walked with a tight, quick clip, and he almost ran into her when she stopped in the line.

“You follow this line,” she said. “The day's special is at the beginning. Tell the servers if you want the full lunch or if you just want certain parts of it. There are vegetarian options if necessary. A la carte items are at the end. Use your student ID card to pay at the end.”

She spoke so quickly that Yami almost couldn't keep up with it, and he missed several words in his haste to translate mentally.

“Ah, right,” he said. “Thank you.”

Cadence turned to face him then. Her gray eyes seemed cold and distant through her thick glasses. This time, Yami had no trouble in determining her emotions towards him. This was an expression that he had seen several times before. He had seen it in Kaiba's eyes. In Marik's. Although he could not understand why it was coming from this girl, whom he had known for all of a half hour.

It was hate.

He tensed, meeting her gaze with an intense one of his own. He would not back down.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

She did not answer at first, though her lips tightened slightly. For a moment, her eyes flicked towards the table. He did not drop his eyes to see exactly what she was looking at. Her gaze returned to meet his.

“You don't belong here,” she said. “Get out while you still can.”

And before he could press her to clarify her statement, she brushed past him with a whoosh.

Yami was left alone in the lunch line, still as tense as though he were about to play a Shadow Game.

_ “What have we gotten ourselves into, partner?” _

*  *  *

_ “Other me?”  _ Yugi asked tentatively.  _ “What’s going on?” _

Yami no Yugi shook his head slowly.

“ _ I’m....not sure....” _

*  *  *

His last class of the day, science, he shared with Mana, Dominic, and Cadence. Mana had motioned for him to sit in the seat behind her, and for some reason, the act of sitting in a classroom with her made him feel that strange sense of deja vu again.

The second the bell rang, Mana popped up and whirled around to face him, even as the teacher continued to talk about the homework over the heads of the fleeing students.

“Well?” she asked eagerly. “How did you like your first day?”

“Leave off, Mana, the bell  _ just _ rang,” Dominic said, rolling his eyes.

Yami no Yugi grinned anyway. Yugi had popped back into the puzzle the moment Mana had turned to face them.

“It was very fun,” he said. “Very interesting. I’m having a bit of trouble keeping up so far...but I think I’ll get the hang of people talking so quickly in English.”

Mana smiled, her whole face lighting up.

“Oh, I’m so glad! I really love this school, so I’m glad that you like it too!”

Her cheer was infectious; he could even see Cadence smiling slightly. The expression faded, of course, once she noticed that he was glancing at her.

“Do you want to come with us and Dawn to the square?” Mana asked. “I want to show you our favorite cafe! We always go after school. I mean, I can’t imagine you’re doing anything since you just got here, and besides you’re going to be staying with Dawn’s family and she’ll be with us, so it’ll be nice to see Risgate better and stuff and -”

Dawn appeared from behind them, throwing her arms around Mana’s neck in a hug. Mana squealed and almost fell over.

“You’re going to smother him!” Dawn laughed. “Give him some room to breathe, Miss Energetic!”

Mana giggled as she extracted herself from Dawn’s grip. Yami no Yugi could not suppress his smile, and he didn’t want to. He could even hear Yugi laughing in the back of his head.

This was nice. It was nice to not have anything weighing on his mind, no world to save or tournament to focus on, no evil psychopaths out to kill him or his friends. He could just sit here and laugh with these people, friendly people that didn’t know about his mysterious past or the secrets of the Puzzle, people that didn’t have to share his burdens with him. He wasn’t quite sure who he was, but he felt like he could be himself completely at this moment, whoever himself really was.

“I’d love to join you,” he said. “I’d like to see more of Risgate, too.”

“Great!” Mana said, eyes lighting up.

Cadence’s smile faded again, and her eyes flashed warningly at him. He ignored her. It wasn’t worth it to antagonize her, and it probably wouldn’t be worth it to try and bring her around. He would not let her ruin his enjoyment of the day. After all, she was only a human, not some crazy person out to destroy the world, so why get worried? He couldn't be friends with everyone, unfortunately.

He slid his books into his bag and followed the crew out of the classroom. Mana kept up her usual chatter, filling Yami no Yugi in on names and families in the neighborhood, who had a dog, who shouted at kids to stay off the grass, and a billion other things that he knew he would never remember if his life depended on it.

It was brisk outside, but not as cold as it had been that morning. They followed the road back towards the square, passing through the neighborhood where Cadence lived.

Most of the snow had been pushed from the sidewalks and roads making small walls between the two pathways.

“Here!” Mana announced. “Right here, this is it!”

They stopped in front of a small store front across from Dominic's family's flower shop. Dim, atmospheric lighting filtered through the large windows. The green and pink striped awning hung heavy with snow, providing a deeper reflection through which it was easier to see inside. He caught a glimpse of cheerful, brightly colored tables and chairs, a low bar, and the decal on the window that featured a sundae with a cherry on top and the name Cherry Bites Cafe in swirly letters. Then Mana was opening the door and waving everyone inside. Yami caught the door and held it open for Mana to go ahead of him. She giggled and thanked him, and then they were inside the heated building.

“This is our favorite cafe,” Mana said. “Well, at least in the winter, cause it's heated!”

“In the summer we go to the outdoor cafe by the park, Sweet Spoon,” Dawn said. “It's closed for the winter, though.”

“Cherry's got  _ much _ better service, though,” Dominic said, sending a wink to the girl at the counter.

The blonde rolled her eyes, half smiling.

“One, no flirting with me at work. Two, not happening, Dom,” the girl said. “Hiya, kids.”

“Worth a shot,” Dominic said. “I'll take a chocolate, please.”

“Yami, this is Keira, my foster sister,” Mana said. “Keira, this is Yami. He's our exchange student. He's from Japan!”

The girl smiled, causing crinkles in the corners of her hazel eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Yami,” she said. She reached across the counter to shake Yami no Yugi's hand. “She driving you up the wall yet?”

“Keira!” Mana said.

Yami no Yugi laughed a little.

“No, not at all. Your sister has been very welcoming.”

Keira grinned.

“Glad to hear it,” she said. “Thanks for putting up with her. Can I get you something? It's on the house to celebrate your first visit.”

Yami no Yugi tried to protest, but neither Keira nor Mana would hear about it. So he gave up and took the hot chocolate that would pushed at him, following the rest of the group towards a booth table.

“Budge up, Dawn, give me some room,” Dominic said, pushing Dawn with his shoulder.

Dawn pinched him and he yelped, prompting a spurt of giggles from Mana. Somehow, Yami no Yugi ended up sitting between Mana and Cadence, and he tried extra hard not to look in Cadence's direction.

The heat of the hot chocolate mug between his hands was comforting. He let the steam spiral upwards around his face for a while before attempting a sip.

“So, Yami,” Mana said. “What's Japan like? What do you like to do?”

“Well,” Yami said, thinking about it. “It's certainly more busy.”

There were only three other groups in the cafe, and there was little more than a faint rustle of voices in the background. Much different than the cafes he was used to going to with his friends.

“My friends and I go to places a bit like this sometimes...there's one place in downtown Domino called Radar Cafe. It's a duel cafe.”

“A what?” Mana asked.

Yami no Yugi blinked, and realized that he hadn't seen a single Duel Cafe in Risgate so far.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I forgot they're not as popular outside of Japan and America,” he said. “A duel cafe is a restaurant with lots of Battle Boxes; they're made to create holograms for the Duel Monsters card game. My friends and I like to play that a lot.”

“Oh, Duel Monsters,” Dominic said, nodding. “I know a few people that play it. I bought a pack once; didn't understand much, though.”

“Oh, right! You play that, right Dawn?” Mana said, leaning across the table towards her friend. “I remember you showed me your cards”

Yami no Yugi glanced across at the blonde with a bit of interest.

“I play a little,” Dawn said, nodding. “Not many people to play with here, though, so I use the online thing a lot.”

“What kind of deck do you use?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“Mostly spellcasters.”

“I have a lot of those,” Yami no Yugi said, smiling to himself.

The thought struck a chord in his head. For a moment, he looked at Dawn, his mind wandering towards spellcasters—what was it about spellcasters and Dawn that....

“Dawn's said it's really popular in Japan,” Dominic said, breaking Yami no Yugi out of his reverie. “You pretty good?”

“I've...won a few tournaments,” Yami no Yugi said.

Yugi snickered at the back of his head.

_ “Yep, just a few. Not like we're the world champion or anything.” _

Yami no Yugi half-smiled.

_ “Oh hush. I kind of like not being recognized,”  _ he said.

“Wow, that's awesome!” Mana said. “Oh, oh, oh! Maybe you could teach me how to play! Dawn, can I borrow your cards?”

“They're at my house, silly,” Dawn said, reaching over to flip her friend's hair into her face. “Maybe you should make your own deck, then! I think the comic store down the street sells packs.”

“It's a waste of money,” Cadence said, her voice only just audible.

Everyone glanced at her. Mana leaned over the table to look at Cadence around Yami no Yugi.

“Huh? What's wrong, Cadence?” Mana asked.

Yami no Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly. Cadence wasn't looking at either of them.

“It's only a game, Mana,” Cadence said, sipping at her mug. “Do you really want to spend a whole bunch of money on trading cards? They don't last long. They're only slips of paper.”

Yami no Yugi's mouth tightened.

“Please don't take offense,” Yami no Yugi said, trying to sound as calm as possible. “But I have yet to see something that is 'just' a game. Games are very important. They bring people together.”

He could see Cadence's fingers tighten slightly on her mug.

“Yeah, Kay,” Mana said, pouting. “It'll be fun! Maybe you should play too! Come on!”

Cadence's lips tightened slightly, but she forced a smile.

“Thank you, but I'm not very interested.”

Mana frowned, then shrugged.

“Okay, that's fine,” she said. “But you'll teach me, right, Yami?”

Yami no Yugi turned away from looking at Cadence.

“Of course,” Yami no Yugi said. “I'd love to. It's a great game.”

He was actually pretty excited. It wasn't often that he got to meet someone completely new at the game; he hadn't really gotten to teach Jonouchi that much. Grandpa had done that. He hadn't expected to be able to play any Duel Monsters on this trip.

“Then let's go to the comic store when we're finished!” Mana said.

Yami no Yugi could have sworn he could feel Cadence's glance boring into him.

They finished up their drinks, said goodbye to Keira, and headed back into the cold. Despite leaving the heated shop, the cold didn't seem so bitter anymore. There were also a lot more people on the streets, and it seemed a lot livelier.

The comic store was a short walk from the cafe—it seemed that everything in this town was a short walk. Once inside, Dominic veered off towards the superhero comics. Dawn pointed out the trading card aisle, and then seemed to catch sight of something interesting and grabbed Cadence to drag her off and show her. Cadence gave Yami no Yugi a dirty look as she passed.

Mana and Yami no Yugi ended up by themselves in front of the packs.

“Hum,” Mana said. “I don't know. I wish I could tell what was inside.”

There was much less selection than Yami no Yugi was used to, and even Yugi was a tad disappointed.

“Oh! Maybe this starter deck?” Mana said, picking up the box.

“Oh? Let me see,” Yami no Yugi said.

She handed the box to him. He flipped it over to read the deck list, and after a moment, frowned and shook his head.

“No good. The balance is off; too many monsters,” he said, putting the box back. “It might be less certain, but I've always found that building your own from the packs is better in the long run.”

Mana nodded and picked up two, looking at each one.

“That makes sense. Because then you're really getting to know your cards and stuff, and you can connect better with them if you choose them yourself, right?”

Yami no Yugi's head jerked up to look at her.

“Uh...yes,” he said.  “Exactly.”

He took the “heart of the cards” for granted. It was something that he often mentioned to his friends and argued about with Kaiba. But he had never, ever heard another person, especially a non-duelist, even hint at that kind of connection with the cards. 

“Yes,” he said again, looking down at the cards. “There's...a kind of soul to this game. You have to trust your cards completely.”

He couldn't imagine how odd that must sound to someone outside of his normal circle. Mana seemed to understand perfectly, though. She smiled as she looked through the packs.

“It's so cool,” she said. “I've seen Dawn's cards. They're kinda...like magic in a way, I guess. I don't know, though. I've always loved magic—I'm always saying things are magic!”

Yami no Yugi's smile grew again. He glanced sidelong at her. She was chewing on her lip as she considered two packs, holding one in each palm as though she could weigh them against each other and find out what was inside. She seemed to get it. So easily—the magic of Duel Monsters, something that he had assumed few others recognized.

It made him feel warm in his chest.

“Okay, I'm getting these,” Mana said, brandishing a small stack of packs. “I can't wait to see what cards I got! Oh, you have to show me yours, too! And how to choose them and stuff.”

“No problem,” Yami no Yugi said. “You've been so welcoming; I hope I can repay you through this.”

“You don't have to repay me for anything, silly,” Mana said.

Mana paid for her purchase, then scurried off to grab Dominic from the comics section and meet back up with Dawn and Cadence at the door.

Standing outside on the sidewalk, Mana slit open one of her packs.

“I'm just too excited to wait!” she said. “Oooo, look! How pretty!”

She held up the first card for them all to see.

“Magician's Valkyria—wow, lucky pick,” Yami no Yugi said. “That's not a very common card.”

Dominic gave a low whistle as he leaned down to look.

“Now why can't real girls be as fit as that?” he said.

Dawn elbowed him in the gut.

“And why won't girls stop hitting me?” he moaned.

“Hm, I wonder,” Cadence said dryly.

Mana continued to riffle through the cards. Yami no Yugi snuck a peek over her shoulder. She had picked a good pack already, snagging some more good cards: Magic Cylinder, Spell Binding Circle.

Mana was showing Yami no Yugi the different colored cards and asking him what the differences were when something caught his attention and made him pause in midsentence.

Sunlight glimmered through hair so long and fine that it could have been made from platinum wire. Deep blue eyes shone as though she were about to cry—although her expression was more confused than anything. Her skin was pale, but her cheeks and nose were red from the cold. She wore only a brown t-shirt and jeans, and she was shuddering from the wind.

Yami no Yugi realized two things in the space of an instant: one, that she had most definitely not been standing there a second before.

Two: she was staring right at him and trying to speak.

Her mouth moved, but it was stiff and he could not read the words that she was unable to give sound to. 

Then she collapsed face forward into the snow.

It all happened so quickly that no one else noticed until they heard the crunch of snow on impact. Yami no Yugi raced forward, Dawn the first one on his heels.

He reached for her wrist as Dawn rolled her over, eyes wide. Yami no Yugi felt for a pulse.

“She's breathing,” Dawn said.

“Heartbeat's normal,” Yami no Yugi said. “But she's _ freezing! _ ”

Touching her skin was like touching a metal pole that had been sitting in the snow for several days. It was a wonder she wasn't dead of frostbite.

“Oh no oh no oh no,” Mana said, running up with eyes wide.

Cadence put a soothing hand on Mana's shoulder and Mana leaned into the taller girl. Mana looked as though she might be about to have a panic attack.

“What happened? Where did she come from? Is she okay?” Mana asked.

“Looks mostly all right,” Dominic said. “Dawn, let's take her to the clinic.”

“Good idea,” Dawn said.

Yami no Yugi helped Dominic lift the girl up. She was incredibly light, but Yami no Yugi wasn't quite tall enough to be able to carry her correctly.

“I'll call ahead,” Dawn said, reaching for her cell phone.

Mana was still shaking, and the blonde girl took her head reassuringly. Yami no Yugi moved to follow, but then Cadence was standing in front of him.

His fists rolled up of their own accord. For a moment, they just stared at each other.

“What?” he finally said.

“This is your fault,” Cadence said through clenched teeth. “She's not supposed to be here.”

She glared at him one more time, even more furiously than before.

“You're going to ruin everything.”

Then she spun on her heel and ran to catch up. Yami no Yugi glowered at her head, and also broke into a jog.

Whatever was happening in Risgate, whatever Cadence was going to hate him for, he was not going anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> begonia = beware


	4. Holiday Crocus

The clinic was a small building for a small town, not at all like the Domino City Hospital. It had only three floors and took up only a little over double the space of a normal house—in fact, it was connected directly to one of the houses in the neighborhood.

Yami no Yugi held the doors open so Dominic could ease his way through with the unconscious girl.  There was a sleepy looking red-headed girl at the desk. Her head jerked up from where it had been leaning against her hand when she saw them come in. She hit a bell on the desk and shouted for Doctor Grey as she jogged into the hallway. She came back with a gurney and helped Dominic shift the girl onto it. 

As they completed this process, a man came out from the back. He was young-looking, no older than his thirties, with high cheek bones and dark brown hair that was currently held back in a tight ponytail. Had it been let down, it probably would have gone past his shoulders. He was wearing the typical white coat that would identify him as a doctor, his blue-gray eyes calm and quick as he assessed the situation.

“What's the status?” he asked as he came up to the group.

“She just collapsed. She's really, really cold, dad,” Dawn said.

He nodded—so this was Dawn's father?

“Good work getting her here,” he said. He smiled and put a hand on Dawn's shoulder. She relaxed visibly at the touch.

“Sera and I will take care of the rest. Why don't you and your friends head into the house?”

He and the red-head pushed the gurney back into the hospital.

For a few moments, the group stayed in the lobby, quiet. Yami no Yugi stared at the hallway for a minute.

There had been something incredibly familiar about that man....and something about him felt off. Like...like something about him was the wrong color.

“Well, let's not block the entry,” Dawn said. “Come on, my house is right over here.”

She gestured to a door on the side of the lobby, and held it open for the group to filter in. It came straight into a kitchen. The worn wooden floor had been swept clean, and all the surfaces, though old-looking, were meticulously clean. There was one small window towards the front, but the rest of the walls were taken up by a door into a small hallway and cabinets along the warm yellow walls. 

Dawn trotted over to the cabinet.

“Anybody hungry?” she asked, pulling out a container full of what appeared to be cookies.

“Uh, did you make those, or your dad?” Dominic asked, looking suspicious.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at him.

“Dad made them. Glad to know you appreciate my cooking.”

“You  _ cannot _ call those charred rock cakes of yours cooking.”

Dawn threw a cookie at him, which he caught and popped in his mouth, grinning. Dawn rolled her eyes. She plopped down into a seat and patted the one next to her for Mana to sit down. Cadence took a spot on the other side of her, and Dominic and Yami no Yugi sat down on the opposite side of the table.

“You going to be all right, Mana?” Dominic asked.

“Yeah,” Mana said, ducking her head. “That was just...kinda scary, you know? I hope she'll be okay.”

“You shouldn't worry, Mana. You know Dr. Grey is very good at his work,” Cadence said.

Then she sent Yami no Yugi a glance that said it was his fault that Mana was worrying. Yami no Yugi decided not to respond to the gesture, accepting the cookie that Dawn offered him with a nod of thanks.

“Well, why don't you open the rest of your cards?” Dawn said. “Then Yami and I can help you build a deck while we wait for my dad to come back and tell us what's up.”

“Sure,” Mana said, brightening slightly.

Dawn set the container of cookies down and trotted off to get her own cards. Yami no Yugi reached into his back for his deck while Mana started slitting open the rest of the cards.

She had then all laid out on the table by card type by the time Dawn returned. The blonde girl slid into her chair and started pointing out the difference between normal and effect monsters, which Mana listened to with great attentiveness.

“What cards do you have?” Dominic asked Yami no Yugi.

“Mostly spellcasters and warriors. A few beasts. Here, I'll show you.”

He spread his own cards out on the table to show Dominic. He was suddenly glad that he had left the three God Cards in the care of Grandpa back home. He didn't really want them here right now. Then Mana asked Yami no Yugi a question about trap cards, and Yami no Yugi leaned over to see what she was talking about.

Dawn came around the table to lean over Dominic's shoulder, looking through Yami no Yugi's cards. She occasionally would bat at Dominic's hand as he pointed at one, telling him not to touch another duelist's cards, because this game was serious business—in Japan especially. Yami no Yugi was secretly grateful to Dawn—he didn't particularly want people to be poking at his cards.

After a while, Mana had carefully compiled a deck. She had gotten very lucky; most of her pack finds were spellcasters, with a few beasts and dragons thrown in. The sun was setting outside the window.

“I'd better be going. Got to help da with the flowers tonight,” Dominic said, standing up from the table.

“Oh, is it that late already?” Mana said, head jerking up.

She pouted at the digital clock on the wall.

“No fair. I gotta go too,” she said. “Dawn, you'll tell me what happens with Miss Enigma, right?”

“You named her?” Dawn said teasingly.

“Just until she tells us her real name!”

Dawn laughed.

“Of course, I'll let you know when dad finds out she's okay,” Dawn said.

Mana nodded, satisfied. Then she turned to Yami no Yugi.

“Let's play the game tomorrow after school, okay?”

“Sure,” Yami no Yugi said. “I look forward to it.”

Mana gathered up her cards and placed them carefully in a pocket of her bag.

“I'll walk you home,” Cadence said.

“Thanks,” Mana said. “Bye everyone! See you tomorrow!”

Yami no Yugi smiled and waved. A few moments later, it was only Yami no Yugi and Dawn. Dawn yawned, stretching.

“Well,” she said. “I don't know how late my dad's working, so why don't I show you the room you'll be using?”

“That would be great, thank you,” Yami no Yugi said.

He followed her down the hall from the kitchen and up a narrow flight of stairs, then to the right down another hall. The room was three doors down from the stairs.

“My dad just cleaned it, so it shouldn't be dusty or anything,” Dawn said.

She pushed the door open. It was actually a tad bigger than Yugi's room at home. The walls were half plaster towards the top and wood on the bottom half, which stretched into the same color as the wooden floor. A large window pointed out towards the rest of the neighborhood. It was already getting dark out. That was winter for you. The bed was nestled in the corner to the right of the window, and there was a desk on the other side of the window.

“Not a bad view, huh?” Dawn said.

“It's perfect. Thank you,” Yami no Yugi said. He bowed slightly in the way he was used to doing in Japan before he remembered that they didn't do that in England. Dawn didn't even miss a beat, though, bowing right back so perfectly that she might have been Japanese herself.

Then she yawned again.

“Ugh. I haven't gotten much sleep in the last couple days,” she said, stretching. “If you don't mind, I'll probably be heading to bed in a few, after I get my homework. Jeez. Bathroom's down the hall to the left. I'll let you get settled and stuff.”

“Thank you again,” Yami no Yugi said.

Dawn winked.

“No problem! While you're here, our home is your home. I hope I'll get to introduce my dad properly tomorrow, though. Sorry about that, he's always busy.

“It's not a problem.”

“Still,” Dawn said.

She shrugged.

“Well, see you in the morning, I guess. Good night.”

“Good night.”

She bobbed her head at him and bounced from the room.

Yami no Yugi drew in a deep breath. What a long day. Great, but long.

A projection of Yugi appeared beside him.

“Well,” Yugi said. “Having a lot of fun?”

Yami no Yugi ducked his head.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I don't mean to hog the time.”

Yugi just grinned at him.

“How many times do I have to say it! I don't care! I'm really just here for school, anyway. Besides, this is huge! You getting to make friends all by yourself! I'm proud of you.”

He patted Yami no Yugi lightly on the shoulder, prompting a small laugh from the spirit.

“As long as you're okay with it,” Yami no Yugi said. “Hmmm...what time is it in Japan?”

“Um...really early in the morning. It's already tomorrow, there.”

No wonder Yami no Yugi felt so incredibly tired. He sunk onto the bed. For a brief moment, they both just sat. Then Yugi gently came back into control, and Yami no Yugi sank gratefully back into the Puzzle. He watched sleepily as Yugi unpacked and star

Sometime during Yugi's moving around, Yami no Yugi drifted off.

He didn't actually sleep. He had found some time ago that he didn't need it, and didn't really reach a level of unconsciousness that was akin to sleep. Still, it was blissful release, and it came without dreams for once. He came to again to find Yugi was still awake. He had set up the laptop they had brought on the desk.

_ “Oh, you're awake, other me,” _ Yugi said.  _ “I was just talking to everybody.” _

_ “What time is it...?” _

_ “Here? About...almost ten. It's nearly six in Japan.” _

Yami no Yugi surfaced enough to register that there were four faces on the screen in their own little boxes. In the top left was Anzu, next to her was Jonouchi, below him was Honda, and on the last one was Ryo.

“Other me's awake,” Yugi said to them.

“Oh, tell him good morning, then,” Anzu said.

“It's not morning over there, Anzu,” Jonouchi said.

“I don't need  _ you _ to tell me that, Jonouchi.”

“How are you doing, other Yugi?” Ryo asked.

Yami no Yugi switched into control for a moment.

“Very good, actually,” he said. “It's very peaceful up here.”

Jonouchi groaned and folded his arms.

“I tell ya, Yugi, you got out at the best possible time. You wouldn't believe the workload they're throwing on us.”

“Don't mind him,” Honda said, grinning. “He's just irritated because Kaiba came to classes yesterday.”

“Kaiba? Why?” Yami no Yugi asked.

Yugi surfaced again.

“Oh, don't tell me...is that what Anzu was talking about?”

“Yeah,” Anzu said, rolling her eyes. “He wants you to be in his next tournament. It's not even until spring, but he wants to make sure you commit. Something Prix.”

Yami no Yugi sighed, popping back into control.

“He's never going to give up, is he?” he said, then Yugi switched back in.

“I can't believe he came to class for that. Didn't I tell him I was going someplace?”

“Why would you tell that jerk anything?” Jonouchi grumbled. “He ain't your coordinator, he doesn't need to know everything you're doing.”

“Jonouchi-kun, he  _ is _ our friend,” Yugi said.

“I'm pretty sure only  _ you _ think that, Yug.”

“Anyway,” Anzu said, cutting in before Jonouchi go on a rant. “We were thinking of coming to visit when break comes around.”

“What? Really?” Yugi said, sounding excited. “But...airfare is expensive, right?”

Anzu looked a tad guilty.

“Weeell,” she said.

“Kaiba-san offered to buy plane tickets on the condition that you participate in that tournament,” Ryo said, smiling.

“I didn't tell him yes, or anything,” Anzu said quickly. “I'm not going to speak for you.”

“Go ahead and say yes,” Yugi said. “I'd love you guys to see this place, and meet everyone we met today. I don't mind tournaments, you know that! Besides, a normal one without the world at stake would be fun!”

“Great!” said Jonouchi.

“I can't wait,” Anzu said. “I hope you're having fun!”

“Don't worry, Anzu, I am.”

She smiled warmly at him, and Yami no Yugi could feel the barely suppressed happiness that filtered through his partner's mind. He smiled to himself.

“Well, we'll have to be getting ready to go to school soon,” Honda said.

“Right, and you should sleep, Yugi,” Anzu said. “Don't make the other Yugi take you to school again!”

Yugi laughed.

“Don't worry, Anzu, I'll sleep this time,” he said. “Good night, everybody.”

“G'night.”

“Night, Yugi.”

“Bye.”

“See you soon!”

Yugi logged off. He leaned back in his chair, sighing.

_ “Well, partner, you should probably make good on that promise of yours,” _ Yami no Yugi said.  _ “Go to bed.” _

“Ugh, you act like a mom sometimes,” Yugi said. “Okay, okay.”

Yami no Yugi smiled quietly again, then sank back into the labyrinth of his soul, back to his half-sleep state.

*  *  *

In the morning, Yugi was still groggy, trying to get over his jet lag. Yami no Yugi, on the other hand, felt completely fresh and rested. Perhaps there were benefits to his own strange sleep patterns. Yami no Yugi let Yugi sleep. He got dressed, and, upon hearing voices downstairs, padded softly down to the kitchen.

Dawn was sitting at the table with a steaming cup, tea by the smell of it. Her father was standing at the stove, pouring another cup. This morning, his hair was down, and it did in fact fall past his shoulders. He looked up just as Yami no Yugi arrived in the doorway, as though he had known he was right there. For the second time, Yami no Yugi was struck by a sense of familiarity.

“Ah, good morning,” he said. “My apologies for last night. My job can cause me to work long hours.”

“No, it's all right. You're doing a very important job,” Yami no Yugi said.

The man smiled.

“I'm Darcy Grey,” he said. “You can just call me Darcy. Would you like some tea?”

He offered Yami no Yugi the cup he had just poured.

“Thank you,” Yami no Yugi said, accepting it. “I'm Mutou Yami.”

“Yes, my daughter talked about you,” Darcy said. He smiled slightly as though there were some joke there. “Thank you for helping her and her friends bring in that girl last night. All of you and your quick actions probably saved her.”

He gestured that Yami no Yugi should sit. Dawn looked groggily up at him from under her messy bangs.

“Hey,” she mumbled. “It's morning.”

Yami no Yugi suppressed a grin.

“It is,” he said.

“ _ Why _ is it morning?” Dawn moaned, letting her head flop to the table.

Darcy turned back towards the stove and started portioning something from a pan onto plates. A soft bell-like tone emanated through the house. Darcy frowned. He paused to wipe his hands on his apron.

“Dawn, will you finish breakfast? Just put the things on plates,” he said.

Dawn grunted an affirmative as Darcy reached for a phone on the wall.

“Yes? This is Dr. Grey,” he said.

Dawn managed to pull herself off the table and stumbled towards the stove. She finished plopping things on plates, then stumbled back towards the table and pushed a plate at Yami no Yugi.

He thanked her, but she didn't seem to hear him. Her face was back to being pressed against the table. Quietly, he pressed his hands together and muttered a quick  _ “itadakimasu.” _

He was not at all sure about the English breakfast, and could not remember having ever used a fork. Dawn was no help to watch off of since she wasn't eating yet, so he was going to have to do the best he could. What was this fried meat strip, anyway? It smelled good...but how did you eat it?

Darcy put the phone back down on its hook.

“I'll be right back. That girl from last night is up; I'd like to see how she's doing.”

Yami no Yugi nodded, and Darcy took off his apron as he headed through the door into the hospital.

After a little while, Dawn seemed to wake up, and started to tear into the breakfast with a relish. Yami no Yugi silently watched her out of the corner of his eye so that he could figure out how he was supposed to eat scrambled eggs with a fork. Turned out the meat strip was a finger food, and it was absolutely delicious.

“Yum,” Dawn said when she was done, leaning back in her chair. “That was better than usual!”

Yami no Yugi was still have trouble getting eggs onto his fork, so he wasn't quite done yet. Yugi was waking up, probably adjusting to the memory of having eaten as well.

The door opened again, and Darcy was back. But he wasn't alone this time: the white-haired girl was with him.

Dawn perked up a bit.

“Oh! Good morning,” she said. “Are you feeling all right?”

The girl ducked her head slightly.

“Y-yes,” she said softly. “Thank you.”

She was not British, that was for certain. Her accent was a tad on the French side, although there was another sort of lilt to it that Yami no Yugi could not place. Her English was pronounced perfectly, though.

“It looks like she was just suffering from too much cold, and not enough to eat,” Darcy said, nodding. “I've invited her to have breakfast with us...as she says she's not sure where her home or parents are.”

Her shoulders drew up and she ducked her head a little further. It wasn't so much a shy gesture as it was...a nervous one, Yami no Yugi thought. It was almost as if she were a frightened animal who thought she might have to defend herself.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “I wish...I could remember...”

“Don't push yourself,” Darcy said firmly. “Sit down, I'll get you something to eat. You need to get your strength back. Memories will come back with time—it's probably just shock.”

She nodded quietly. She still hesitated before sitting down, and she perched herself precariously on the very edge, as though afraid to touch too much of it.

“I'm Dawn,” Dawn said to her. “Dawn Marisa Grey. And this is Yami Mutou. He's an exchange student from Japan.”

She waited a few beats for the girl to supply her own name. She didn't answer for a few moments, but she did glance up between her long bangs to look at Yami no Yugi, as though he were a puzzle she couldn't figure out.

After a very long silence passed in which things were beginning to get awkward, she said, 

“I'm...Kisara,” she said. “I...think. Kisara....Winter.”

“That's a really pretty name,” Dawn said, almost encouragingly.

Darcy set a plate in front of Kisara. She ducked her head slightly—again, it seemed less shy and more defensive. There was something distinctly....animalistic about her current state. Although she looked like she was hunched and shy, Yami no Yugi could almost feel her tensity. She was ready to fight if she had to.

He wondered briefly if she really had forgotten everything about where she came from, or if she was just afraid to go back. But no, that didn't seem right.

_ “She seems a little off, don't you think?”  _ Yugi thought at him.  _ “Like...I dunno. Like she's not quite the right shape for the rest of the puzzle, you know?” _

_ “I think I know what you mean,” _ Yami no Yugi thought back.  _ “But she's also scared. I think we should give her a chance to relax.” _

Kisara poked dubiously at the meal with her fork. Darcy had sat down at the last seat of the table and was sipping at his tea.

“Dawn, what time are you leaving for school?”

“In about fifteen minutes,” Dawn said. “Oh, as long as you'll be ready, Yami.”

“Sure,” Yami no Yugi said.

“We have to be there in time to meet up with Mana and everyone.”

Yami no Yugi nodded. Kisara's hand twitched for a moment, and her brow wrinkled with slight confusion. Then she shook her head and started to eat small, delicate bites of the food.

That didn't last long; she was obviously starving, and the highly dignified eating process quickly gave way to a quicker one. Dawn popped from her chair and scurried back into the hall, presumably going to get dressed. Darcy got distracted by another phone call and said he had to pop over to the desk in the hospital for a moment. He left the door open between the lobby and the kitchen, but it still ended up that Kisara and Yami no Yugi were alone at the table.

Kisara had finished her meal quickly. In fact, she looked like she could have eaten more, but it looked like there weren't any leftovers, and the dishes had been placed in the sink already. Yami no Yugi wondered to himself if he should be offering to help clean up while he was here. It was only polite.

The thought, however, was mostly to distract him from the awkward silence that grew between him and Kisara.

She had her head down so that her extremely long bangs fell over her face like a curtain. Yami no Yugi ran his tongue over dry lips. Should he break the silence? He didn't want to startle her or anything. She looked like she had been having a rough time. She was much too thin, for starters, as though she had eaten well in weeks. And where would she go if they didn't know where she belonged, if she didn't remember? What kind of procedure was that?

She couldn't remember anything. Just like him.

He glanced up at her. He was surprised to find that she was looking up through her bangs at him, and their eyes met for a moment. Then her head dropped again and the hair fell over her eyes. Yami no Yugi looked awkwardly towards the kitchen window, wondering how long it would be before Dawn or Darcy got back.

She mumbled something. He blinked and glanced at her.

“I'm sorry?” he said.

“I feel like...I've seen you before,” she repeated, just a tad louder than before. “Have I...have we...? Do you know who I am?”

The question struck Yami no Yugi to his very core. It was the very question he wished he could ask someone, and get an answer. His shoulders dropped slightly.

“I'm afraid not,” Yami no Yugi said. “I wish I could help.”

She slumped.

“Is that...what you were trying to ask me yesterday? When you fainted?”

She nodded quietly. Another silence passed. Then she looked up. She pushed the hair from her face, although one strand remained stubbornly hanging between her deep blue eyes.

“I can't remember anything since before yesterday morning,” she said. “I was standing in that square. In the cold. And I realized that I had never felt so much cold before, and I only barely knew what snow was. I kept walking in circles, trying to find something that would tell me where I was, who I was, and then I saw  _ you _ .....and I knew...I had seen you before. I don't know...if it was from afar or if I knew you, or someone like you, but you were the only familiar thing.”

She looked down at the table.

“I'm sorry,” she said.

“For what?” Yami no Yugi said.

“I must have scared you. Or annoyed you.”

He frowned.

“No, you didn't. Of course not. Not knowing anything about yourself...that's terrifying. It really is. I understand.”

She glanced up at him, surprised. He bit his tongue, worried he had said too much. Then an idea struck him.

“Wait, I might have something,” he said, digging in his pocket.

He pulled out his Duel Monsters cards.

“Do these look familiar at all to you?”

She blinked. She reached tentatively for them, but hesitated, waiting for him to nod before she picked up one of the cards from the top. She examined it, turning it over in her hands with a careful, light touch.

“Yes,” she said after a beat. “Yes, these are...familiar. I can't say why, but they...but they are.”

“The game is Duel Monsters,” Yami no Yugi said, hoping that might spark some memories for her. “I'm...well, right now I'm the world champion at this game. Perhaps you've seen me before because of that?”

She stared at the card for a while.

“It does...make sense...” she said. “But...I can't remember.”

Her lips tightened and she looked like she might cry. She returned his card to him and withdrew her hands under the table, where she was presumably squeezing fists into her lap. Disappointed, Yami no Yugi returned the cards to his pocket.

“I'm sorry...I wish I could be more help,” he said.

“No...no, it's okay. Thank you so much for trying.”

He felt incredibly helpless. He knew more than anyone what she was feeling, and he couldn't even come up with a single thing to comfort her. He supposed it made sense. He couldn't comfort himself about it, either.

Without warning, Yugi popped back into control.

“Don't worry,” Yugi said. “And don't push yourself. Memories can hurt if you try too hard. I know it's really, really hard, but....I think you only make it worse by worrying, and trying too hard to remember. It's better to relax. Memories come back better when you're not looking for them.”

Yami no Yugi smiled to himself. Leave it to Yugi. The words seemed to calm Kisara down.

“You're right,” she said. “Thank you. Thank you. I'll try.”

“And don't be upset with yourself for being upset either,” Yugi said. “Because that hurts too. Cry if you have to. Okay?”

Kisara nodded. She glanced up through her bangs at Yugi, and smiled. It was a very nice smile, Yami no Yugi thought.

Then Darcy came back into the room, and Dawn pattered in with her bag on her back.

“We gotta go, Yami!” Dawn said. “Don't wanna be late! Thanks for breakfast, dad. Nice to meet you, Kisara. I hope we can talk again soon!”

Kisara ducked her head, back into a defensive mode. Darcy smiled at Dawn and Yami no Yugi.

“Have a good day,” he said.

“Thank you for breakfast,” Yami no Yugi said, standing up from the table. Yugi had popped back into the Puzzle when Dawn and Darcy had appeared.

Dawn gestured down the hallway towards the entry way. Yami no Yugi hesitated just for a moment to glance at Kisara. She was looking at him again. He gave her a faint smile and a thumb's up. She smiled tentatively back.

Then Yami no Yugi followed Dawn outside into the cold morning.

*  *  *

The school day had gone by in a blur for Yami no Yugi. After an enthusiastic greeting from Mana and another cold glare from Cadence, they had walked to the school with Dawn filling in the other three about Kisara and that she was doing fine. Yami no Yugi had quietly returned to the Puzzle, so it was Yugi that was walking alongside the others this time. Just because they had met him first, Yami no Yugi thought, didn't mean that Yugi shouldn't have a chance to make friends with them as well.

No one really seemed to notice the change, and then classes started, and Yami no Yugi drifted into the labyrinth of his Puzzle, not very interested in paying attention to lessons today. He wandered up and down the halls of his mind. It was less of a vigorous searching and more of an idle meandering. He had stopped trying to make any sense of the place sometime after he had met Shadi. It seemed designed to confuse him, and he was determined more now than ever to relax and not try to push himself too hard. This was a projection of his own insecurities, and Yugi's words to Kisara had reminded Yami no Yugi that it wouldn't do him much good to run around the place without thinking. Perhaps if he relaxed and let go of his insecurities altogether, his soul room would figure itself out on its own.

The bell rang for the last class of the day, and the group found themselves outside again.

“Let's go to your place, Dawn! I want to meet Kisara,” Mana said, gripping the straps of her backpack.

“I dunno, she seems really nervous,” Dawn said. “I'm not sure we should overwhelm her...”

“Weell...” Mana said, looking disappointed. “Well, your house is closest, anyway, and Yami was going to teach me to play Duel Monsters, so we could go to your house anyway, right? I mean, she's probably staying in the hospital right now, so we just won't go bother her!”

Dawn considered it, then smiled.

“Okay, okay, we'll go to my place. But promise me you won't pester dad about her, or even tell her you know about her at all! I mean, technically I'm supposed to keep patients confidential...”

“Yay!” Mana said. She jumped up and punched the air. “I promise, Dawn, I promise!”

They trekked through the cold and snow—it had snowed a little bit more while they had been in classes. Their breath spiraled up into the gray sky, and Yami no Yugi thought his nose was going to fall off from the cold before they finally reached the Greys' house.

“I'm home! I brought everyone with me!” Dawn shouted down the hall.

“Glad to hear it,” Darcy's voice floated down from the kitchen. “Come in, I've made hot chocolate.”

“Yes,” Dominic said, pumping his fist. “That is a brilliant thing to hear when you come in the door. Why can't my parents do that?”

“Because your parents like to experiment with different kinds of tea,” Cadence said.

“Don't remind me,” Dominic said, making a face.

After knocking off their boots and hanging up their coats, the group milled down the hallway and into the kitchen, where Darcy was setting out mugs. Yami no Yugi had ended up at the front of the line with Dawn, and was surprised to see Kisara sitting at the table. She flinched slightly at the sight of so many people, and instinctively dropped her head so that her hair fell over her face like a curtain.

“Oh! Kisara!” Dawn said. “I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be here...dad, you should have warned her we were all coming!”

“I did,” Darcy said, frowning. “Kisara, I told you it's perfectly fine if you want to go upstairs for now; I understand if this is all very overstimulating.”

Kisara shrank slightly into her shoulders, but shook her head slightly.

“No, I don't...didn't want to...thank you...”

Darcy's eyebrows drew together slightly, but he nodded. He turned his aqua-gray eyes to the group trapped bottle-necked in the doorway. He nodded at them, and they sheepishly moved all the way out into the kitchen.

“Kisara is having troubles remembering where she came from,” Darcy explained. “The police have interviewed her and are starting an investigation, but until that time, I have offered to let her stay here with us.”

Kisara shrank down a little bit more. Concerned, Yami no Yugi sidled through the group so that he was standing nearer the table. She glanced up through her bangs at him, and seemed to relax slightly. Then her eyes turned to the rest of the group, slowly, as though evaluating each one individually. The room was a bit quiet and awkward, as though everyone was afraid that a sudden move might startle her.

Then, Mana plopped herself into the seat across from Kisara. She pushed one of the hot chocolate mugs towards Kisara, and then pulled one towards herself. She smiled warmly.

“I'm Mana Raful,” she said. “Pleased to meet you!”

Kisara blinked. She looked at the mug in front of her. Cautiously, she wrapped her long fingers around it, feeling at the heat. Then she looked up at the still smiling Mana again.

The white-haired girl smiled faintly.

The tension broke. It was like a breath had been let out that no one had known they were holding. Yami no Yugi took a seat on the left of Kisara, across from Mana. Dawn sat down on Kisara's other side, and Dominic and Cadence ended up on either side of Mana.

“So this is Dominic McGuire, and that's Cadence Mulloy,” Mana said, pointing to everyone. “And you already met Yami and Dawn, I guess.”

Dominic gave her a smile and a little two-fingered salute, and Cadence nodded. When she wasn't glaring at Yami no Yugi, she actually had a very calm and open sort of aura about her. Well, at least her strange hatred didn't extend to Kisara; that was the last thing the poor girl needed right now.

Kisara nodded silently. However, it seemed that her tensity had faded, and she appeared to be greatly enjoying her hot chocolate. Yami no Yugi himself was very grateful for the sweet, warm liquid. The cold had seemed to seep into every inch of him. He needed the supplemental warmth.

Mana took another sip of her chocolate. Then she reached for the bag that she had dropped beside her chair and rummaged around. She pulled out her Duel Monsters cards with a triumphant gesture.

“Okay!” she said. “Yami, time for you to teach me this game!”

Yami no Yugi smiled.

“Okay,” he said, going for his own cards.

Dominic leaned in as Yami no Yugi showed Mana the best way to cut and shuffle her cards. Cadence sniffed reprovingly, muttering something about a waste of time and money, but Kisara was watching with fascination, dark eyes glimmering in the light. It seemed that the earlier revelation about the cards being connected to her memories had left an impression on her, and she watched the pair of duelists with interest.

“Okay, so what do I do?” Mana said, looking at the five cards she had drawn. “Why don't you just go first, Yami?”

“Okay,” Yami said. “First, you draw a card from your deck, and then you can choose a monster to summon...it has to be level four or lower, though.”

“Oh, no,” Mana muttered.

Yami no Yugi hid a smile with his cards. She must have drawn all high level monsters.

“I'll summon Big Shield Gardna in defense position,” Yami no Yugi said. “And then I'll place these two cards face down. Turn end.”

“Oh, oh, what do I do now?”

“Draw a card, Mana,” Dominic said.

“Oh, right!”

She drew a card, but her face fell when she saw it. She didn't have the hint of a poker face, did she?

“Uuuum....so if I can't play a monster, I can just put some of the green or purple ones face down, right?”

“Spells or traps, right,” Yami no Yugi said.

Dawn popped up from her seat and ran around the table to look at Mana's hand.

“Oooh, play that one face down, Mana, that one,” she said, pointing.

“Hey, Dawn, I don't want to cheat!” Mana said. “No helping me!”

“It's not cheating, this is your first duel! Just play that one, and that one face down, okay?”

“It's probably better if you have someone to help, for the first time, anyway,” Yami no Yugi said.

Mana pouted but she played the two cards that Dawn indicated.

“It takes so long to read all the cards,” she moaned.

Yami no Yugi drew his next card.

“Okay, I'm going to summon the Celtic Guardian,” Yami no Yugi said.

“That one, Mana, that one!” Dawn said, pointing at Mana's face down card.

Mana flipped it over.

“Trap Hole?” she said.

“That'll destroy Celtic Guardian,” Dawn said.

A bit miffed, Yami no Yugi put Celtic Guardian in the Graveyard pile.

“Okay, I'll activate my magic card Card Destruction, so we have to discard our hands and draw the same number of cards.”

“Oh good,” Mana said, looking relieved.

Yami no Yugi laughed softly. This was fun. A duel with absolutely nothing at stake—and no giant holograms for once. That was actually a bit relieving. It felt much more low key. He wondered how Mana would take the sight of the big holographic creatures that he usually dealt with.

“Hmm,” he said, looking at his new hand. “I'll play another card face down and end my turn.”

Kisara leaned over to see the cards in his hand, mouth slightly open in fascination.

“Oh,” she said, staring at one card in particular. Her eyes wandered from that card towards Dawn, and back again.

Yami no Yugi almost looked over to see what she was doing but Mana was starting her turn, and it looked like she had gotten a much better hand this time.

“I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode,” she said, eyes bright. “Oh, I'm so glad I got to use this one! It's so pretty!”

Yami no Yugi nodded. He didn't have a Valkyria himself, but it was a good card. It really seemed to match the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl actually. Speaking of which...

It was his turn, and he drew a card. He selected one that was already in his hand.

“I'll tribute Gardna to summon Dark Magician Girl from my hand.”

Mana's eyes widened.

“Whoa,” she said. “That one is  _ awesome _ ! Can I see it up close after the duel?”

Yami no Yugi laughed a little.

“Sure,” he said.

A thought occurred to him as he heard Kisara shift. He looked down at the card. He glanced up at Kisara, who was glancing between the card and Dawn. Yami no Yugi looked up at Dawn. The girl had positioned herself between Mana and Cadence, leaning her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, humming to herself as she looked at Mana's cards. He looked down at his card again, and up at Dawn.

If he just put little pink circles on her cheeks....

A soft tap at the door distracted him from his train of thought. Without waiting for someone to answer, it popped open, and the red-head from the clinic desk poked her head in. Her ridiculously long orange hair was pulled back into a ponytail today, and she glanced impassively at the group at the table before seeing Darcy in the corner.

“Having an issue. Can you come over?”

“Certainly,” Darcy said. “I have to go. Have fun with your game, kids.”

“Thank you for the chocolate, Dr. Grey,” Dominic said.

“Yes, thank you,” Cadence said.

“Thanks!!” Mana said.

Darcy smiled and headed through the door. It closed softly, and Yami no Yugi turned back to the game.

What had he been thinking about a moment ago? He couldn't quite remember.

“Okay, that one, Mana,” Dawn was saying, pointing to her other face down.

“This one?”

Mana fumbled with her hand, trying to pull a card from it. Dawn glanced up to meet Yami no Yugi's gaze.

Her smile seemed to indicate she knew something that he didn't...

*  *  *

Hours went by without anyone really noticing. Mana had lost to Yami no Yugi, but she had done fairly well with Dawn's coaching. Dominic had asked to take a shot against Yami no Yugi, and Dawn had lent him her deck. Yugi had switched in silently to take this duel; they had decided privately that they would take turns with the games, since Yugi was itching to play as well. Dominic was absolutely hopeless at the game. He kept forgetting that you couldn't summon level five or higher monsters without a tribute, and eventually dissolved into swearing irritably under his breath every time he drew a bad card.

“You've gotta connect with them, Dom,” Mana insisted. “And then you'll get the ones you want.”

“They're just pieces of paper,” Cadence said dryly.

“Exactly! It's all bloody luck,” Dominic said.

“You'll never get it like that, Dom! Believe in the cards!!” Mana said, pumping her arms up and down like a cheerleader.

While that went on, Mana lent her deck to Kisara to look through. The girl looked at each card for a very long time, as though trying to divine its meaning—or as though she were looking for a particular one. When Dominic lost (badly) to Yugi (he hadn't really been trying that hard so as not to make Dominic feel bad, but he had still won without much effort), Dawn asked to borrow Mana's deck so that she could teach Kisara, too, lending her own deck to Kisara.

Cadence just huffed when Dawn asked her to play a round.

“It's just a silly game,” she had muttered.

“It's much, much more than that,” Yami no Yugi said.

The look in her dark eyes almost made him think that she knew that, but was pretending not to. But that was silly. She was probably just being as disagreeable as always.

After a few hours of this, Dominic had to go to help his parents at the flower shop. Dawn and Mana started a duel that Yami no Yugi was glad to settle in to watch. Cadence fidgeted in her seat, looking more irritable than normal as her eyes flicked between the game to Dawn to Yami no Yugi to the game again.

Finally, she stood up and muttered something about a bathroom, and stalked off.

“Geez,” Dawn said teasingly. “You shouldn't wait so long, Kay!”

Cadence didn't reply and disappeared down the hall.

Kisara scootched over so that she could see their duel better. For a few moments, everything was quiet.

“...I like this game,” Kisara said suddenly. “It feels very nostalgic.”

Mana and Dawn glanced up from their hands, and Yami no Yugi looked sidelong at the white-haired girl. She had definitely relaxed. Her shoulders hung loosely, and her hands were merely resting in her lap, not curled into fists.

“Yeah,” Mana said, smiling. “I like it too.”

Kisara's lips twitched into a small smile. She looked down at the cards.

“You know....?” she said slowly. “I think...I remember one other thing about myself.”

“Really?” Dawn said, brightening.

Kisara nodded. Yami no Yugi leaned over to see Kisara's expression. It was a little closed off and guarded, a little nervous, but there was determination there too.

“I...I'm looking for something,” she said. “Someone, I think. I think I lost someone, and I'm trying to find them again.”

“Oh!” Mana said. “Like, there was someone with you just before you lost your memories?”

Kisara nodded.

“I have to find him,” she said, almost thoughtfully. “Yes. Him. I remember it's a him. I'm looking for him.”

It sounded like she was testing the words out, seeing how they sounded. Everyone was quiet for a few moments. Yami no Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. What would it be like to have a little bit of something, the slightest hint of what he had forgotten, like a clue that told him what he needed to be looking for in his mind? What would that be like?

“That must be really hard,” Mana said softly. “Knowing that there's someone that you have to remember...and not being able to.”

Yami no Yugi opened his eyes. He glanced at Kisara, and saw the drawn pain behind her mask. He felt suddenly guilty for being jealous of her. How much harder would it be to have the memory so close in your grasp and not being able to touch it? Mana had hit it on the nail.

He straightened.

“I'll help you,” he said.

Kisara glanced up.

“I'll help you find who you're looking for,” Yami no Yugi said. “I'll help you find your memories.”

Kisara stared at him, eyes wide.

“Me too!” Mana said, jumping up. “I'll help you look! With all of us working together, we're sure to find the person you're looking for!”

“Count me in,” Dawn said.

Kisara looked between all three of them, eyes wide, uncertain. Then, slowly, a huge smile broke across her face, perhaps the first real relief she had felt in the hours that she could remember.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “Thank you.”

*  *  *

It was late, and Yami no Yugi was exhausted. Yugi was in control now, and Yami no Yugi was content to float in his semi-darkness.

Kisara was settled in another guest room; there seemed to be several in this house. Mana and Cadence had walked home some hours ago, Mana extracting a promise from Yami no Yugi for them to play Duel Monsters again during lunch break the next day. She was improving really quickly, and it was very exciting for Yami no Yugi. He loved being able to share something he loved with someone new.

Yugi yawned as he stepped out of the bathroom. Then he hesitated when he saw Dawn standing in the hallway. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she was rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Hi, Yugi,” she said.

“Uh, hi,” Yugi said.

Yami no Yugi stirred slightly, taking in Dawn. Again, the similarities of her and the Dark Magician girl were startling. She might be a tad shorter, though...it was hard to tell. Still, if he imagined that distinctive hat on her head...

“Um...Dawn...” Yugi said. “You...”

Then suddenly it hit both of them at the same time what she had said.

_ “Hi, Yugi.” _

“It is Yugi, right now, right?” Dawn said. “I thought, because your eyes are purple again.”

Yugi hesitated.

“You...”

“Don't worry! No one else has noticed,” Dawn said. “And I won't tell anyone. But there are two of you, right? When we got the confirmation that you were going to be staying with us for the exchange program, the papers said your name was Yugi. But you called yourself Yami. And I saw you switching occasionally. So...right?”

Both soul mates were stunned. Yugi couldn't speak at first.

“You—and you're—you're okay with that?” Yugi said, blinking. “Just like that? You're going to accept that there are two different people in one head?”

Dawn cocked her head.

“There are far less believable things,” she said. “Anyway, I didn't think I got to say hello to Yugi properly, so I wanted to say hi to you. I want you both to feel welcome here, see?”

She looked so much like the Dark Magician Girl. She knew that there were two Yugis.

“Dawn...who are you?” Yugi asked, before he could think about it.

Dawn smiled. It was a mysterious sort of smile, especially in the dark hallway.

“I'm Dawn Marisa Grey, of course,” she said, bowing. “Good night, Yugi, Yami. Don't worry...your secret is safe with me.”

She winked at him. Then she brushed past him into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Yugi was left standing in the dark hallway, both he and Yami no Yugi reeling slightly from what had just happened.

“Dawn....Marisa...Grey...” Yugi said slowly. “D...M...G...”

He looked at the door. He looked up at the dark ceiling.

_ “DMG...”  _ Yami no Yugi repeated.  _ “DMG.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> crocus = cheerfulness


	5. White Carnation of Light and Shadow

Yami no Yugi woke with the sun peeping through the blinds. His pseudo-sleep had been restless, and he felt guilty because he was sure that had affected Yugi's sleep as well. He was groggily coming to as Yami no Yugi sat up, his bare feet brushing against the cold floor. He winced, and regretted the fact that Yugi didn't like to wear socks to bed.

Last night felt a bit hazy to him, but he remembered the basic gist of it.

_ “Dawn Marisa Grey...” _ he mused.  _ “Is it really possible, partner?” _

_ “I don't know,” _ Yugi said.  _ “Still...it's very strange. Too much of a coincidence, besides. But why would the Dark Magician Girl be here? And how? This isn't a duel...and we're not in the Shadow Realm...” _

Yami no Yugi nodded. So what was Dawn up to? Was it just a joke?

_ Some joke, _ he thought.

Sighing softly, he stood up and moved to get dressed.

He stepped out into the hallway, relieved to be wearing something on his feet. The wooden floors here were  _ freezing. _ He shuffled towards the bathroom.

However, there was already someone in there, staring into the mirror as though it held the secrets of life. Kisara caught a glimpse of Yami no Yugi in the mirror and sucked in a startled breath, flinching visibly. Yami no Yugi held up his hands.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I didn't mean to frighten you...”

She blushed as she turned to face him.

“No, it's...it's fine. I'm sorry for being jumpy...”

Yami no Yugi smiled and shook his head.

“There's no need to apologize for that. How are you?”

“Much better, thank you,” Kisara said. “I think the rest did me a lot of good.”

She was certainly much more talkative this morning. Her stance was relaxed as well, and she wasn't trying to hide behind her hair anymore. She seemed to have eased into her surroundings.

“That's good,” Yami no Yugi said. “I'm glad.”

Kisara smiled slightly. She glanced over her shoulder into the mirror again. Then she ducked her head and scurried past Yami no Yugi, going back into the guest room she was using.

After Yami no Yugi had finished washing up, he headed down to the kitchen. He hesitated at the sight of Dawn at the table, remembering the event of last night. She was, however, completely sprawled across the table with her face pressed into the wood, and merely groaned in response to his good morning.

Was this girl really the Dark Magician Girl? It was hard to correlate the self-assured, mysterious girl of last night with the groggy girl of this morning. Perhaps it  _ was _ a joke.

Yami no Yugi tried to keep his mind off of it. He tried not to think about the fact that if the Dark Magician Girl was really here, then it probably meant that there was something wrong and he was going to have to try and save the world again. He didn't want to think about that. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation.

“Good morning,” Darcy said. “Hungry?”

The man pushed a plate of food towards Yami no Yugi as he sat down.

“Thank you,” Yami no Yugi said.

Darcy smiled and nodded at him. Yami no Yugi was hit with such a wave of deja vu at the man's expression that he felt dizzy. But then Darcy was turning back to the stove to portion more scrambled eggs onto another plate, and the feeling was gone. Yami no Yugi sunk back into the Puzzle while Yugi took over and started in on the breakfast. Eating was a very strange thing for the pair of spirits. Neither of them felt hungry unless they were in control, yet they still felt like they were tasting the food while the other one was eating.

Yami no Yugi was distracted from his thoughts when Kisara arrived. She mumbled out a thank you to Darcy when he handed her a heaping plate of food, but her demureness dropped pretty quickly and she tore into her meal. She finished even before Yugi, and then hopped up to try and help Darcy with the dishes.

“No, no, no,” Darcy said. “You're a guest here. And you still need to rest yourself. Doctor's orders.”

He gently pushed her back into her seat. She looked a bit miffed.

“But I want to help out,” she said. “You're all being so kind to me....”

“Don't worry about it,” Darcy said. “I'll be glad to let you help around the house once I'm certain you're not going to overexert yourself. For now, though, I need you to keep yourself healthy. All right?”

The hospital tone chimed through the house, and Darcy frowned. He dried his hands off on his apron and started towards the door, hanging up the apron and putting his hair into a ponytail again.

“I have to go, Dawn, can you...?”

He glanced at the girl who was still pretty much dead to the world, and sighed. Yugi jumped up, having finished his breakfast.

“I'll finish the dishes, Darcy-san,” he said.

Darcy smiled thankfully and disappeared into the hospital. Dawn had finally woken up enough to start eating, although she left her head laying on the table and just pushed food into her mouth with her fork.

After a few minutes, Kisara padded silently over and started to dry the dishes for Yugi.

“Darcy-san said...”

“This isn't going to overexert me,” she said stubbornly. “I want to help.”

Yugi shrugged helplessly. Yami no Yugi smiled from the back of Yugi's mind. Now that she was rested and all, Kisara was more than just stubborn. It was nice to see her so active, in Yami no Yugi's opinion.

“The Greys have been kind enough to take me in when I don't know where else to go. I have to try and make it up to them,” Kisara said.

“Mmmmf,” Dawn mumbled.

“What was that?” Yugi asked over his shoulder.

“I said,” Dawn said. “That you don't have to worry about it, Kisara.”

Kisara frowned, indicating that she  _ did _ worry about it. She paused in the middle of a dish, looking thoughtful.

“Maybe...maybe I should try and find a part time job,” she said, as though thinking aloud.

“Dad will say no,” Dawn mumbled.

“Maybe that is a little bit too much,” Yugi said.

Kisara sighed.

“I know, I know, I should be resting, but...but I just....I don't want to sit around here all day....I need to find  _ something _ to do, or else....”

She bit her lip and didn't finish.

Yami no Yugi, however, knew exactly what she meant.

_ “She doesn't want to be left alone with her thoughts,” _ he told Yugi.  _ “She can't remember anything...it's horrible to not have anything to distract you from that. She doesn't want to think about how she can't figure out where she came from.” _

Yami no Yugi felt the pang of Yugi's heart—both for Kisara, and for Yami no Yugi himself. Yami no Yugi withdrew a bit, embarrassed. He didn't want to worry Yugi; he had been a little too forward about that, perhaps.

“Well, maybe not a job, but maybe Dominic and Mana know something that you can go do in town while we're at school,” Yugi said. “We should ask them.”

Kisara brightened a bit.

“I would like that,” she said. “I like them.”

Yugi smiled and finished off the dishes. Dawn groaned something that no one could hear again before she stumbled off to finish getting ready.

“Has anyone ever told you that your name doesn't fit you?” Yugi teased her.

Dawn groaned at him and disappeared down the hall.

Yugi giggled to himself. But then he remember last night, and his brain started to turn again.

_ “Who is she really, other me?” _ he asked.

Yami no Yugi sighed.

_ “I wish I knew, partner.” _

*  *  *

Easily one of Yugi's most awkward classes was the art class. He wasn't an artist by any means, and paintbrushes confused him. The best he could come up with in drawing was a few vaguely defined stick figures.

He did, however, share the class with Mana, who seemed just as hopeless at art but less concerned with the fact. She had a big paint mark on her nose and a huge grin as Yugi slid into the seat across from her and switched places with Yami.

“You've got something on your nose,” Yami no Yugi said, grinning.

Mana didn't stop grinning and tried to wipe it with the back of her hand, only succeeding in making it bigger.

“What are you working on?” he asked, leaning over.

“Abstract art!” she said proudly.

She held up her canvas, which was just a collection of paint splatters in the boldest colors she had been able to find. It looks so cheerful and bouncy, just like Mana, that Yami no Yugi had to grin.

“It's nice,” he said. “Very colorful.”

“I know! I love colors!”

She set the canvas down and started to flick more paint onto it. Yami no Yugi smiled and looked at his own attempt at an abstract composition, which he had started the day before. It was less colorful and more brown—apparently he should have waited for the layers to dry before he added more paint on top. Grimacing at the ugly color, he reached for some red and blue, hoping to fix it.

“So how's Kisara? I didn't get a chance to ask at lunch,” Mana said.

“She's doing much better,” Yami no Yugi said. “But I think she's getting a little anxious to do something.”

“Oh, I would be the same way!” Mana said. “I hate sitting around for a long time!”

As if to prove her point, she stood up from her chair and started to shift back and forth as she added more paint splatters.

Yami no Yugi narrowly dodged being hit in the face with a glob of blue.

“So, what do you think about England now?” Mana said. “I mean, it's been like three days, right? Do you like it more or less?”

“I think I like it more every day,” Yami no Yugi said. “Risgate is a very peaceful place. A little too cold, though.”

Mana giggled.

“I think so too,” she said. “I grew up in Syria.  _ Syria _ . It's sooo hot down there.”

“I would imagine,” Yami no Yugi said. “How did you come here, anyway?”

“Oh! See, my grandma had an old pen pal from here that she was still in contact with, and the pen pal sent her a scholarship application for me—it's kinda like the one that you won—and I got to come up here for a whole semester.”

She stuck her tongue out in concentration, adding some smaller details to her paint collage.

“While I was here, though, my grandma died. She was...all I had back in Syria.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry,” Yami no Yugi said.

He meant it, too—he couldn't imagine Yugi's grandfather disappearing. Even though Sugoroku wasn't technically Yami no Yugi's grandfather, and didn't even technically know that Yami no Yugi existed, Yami no Yugi had an intense fondness for the old man, and wasn't sure what he would do if he lost him.

“It's okay...she was really old, and really happy for me,” Mana said. “But I didn't have a place to go back to in Syria, so...so my foster family, the Bennets, they applied to adopt me officially, and it went through. So I've been in England ever since.”

She hesitated in the middle of her painting, staring down at it—but obviously seeing something else entirely.

“Do you...miss it? Syria, I mean,” Yami no Yugi said.

Mana ducked her head slightly.

“...Yeah. Sometimes.”

She shook her head.

“I mean, I'm really happy here! It's really nice, and all my friends are here, but...yeah. I miss it a lot.”

Yami no Yugi looked down at his disaster of a painting.

“Tell me about it,” he said.

“Huh?”

“Will you tell me about Syria? What was it like?”

Mana paused for a moment. There was only the sound of the paintbrush against the canvas for a long breath.

“It....it was much warmer,” Mana said. She laughed slightly. “Oh, that's a stupid way to start, of course it was much warmer. But it was really, really pretty. A lot of people have told me that the desert isn't pretty. It's all dead and barren...but I don't think so at all. It's like...nothing really compares to the way that the sun glitters across sand, you know? Like molten gold. Sure, it was dusty and hot, but it was beautiful.”

Yami no Yugi nodded slowly.

“Yes...yes, I could imagine that.”

And he could: vividly, it seemed. He had only seen photographs of places like Egypt and Syria, but the picture in his mind was so much more vivid than any photo. He could see the sands spreading out from him, melting into the blue sky above, the sun turning the sand into shifting mounds of dusty gold.

“And when you were by the river, you wouldn't  _ believe _ how lush and beautiful it was. The water sparkled, and the river grasses were such a deep green. Some days I'd go down to the water hoping to see a hippo or a crocodile. I never did, though.”

Yami no Yugi half smiled to himself.

“What if they had come out and eaten you?” he teased.

“Well, it's not gonna happen now, is it?” Mana said, giggling. “There aren't a whole lot of crocodiles in England.”

Yami no Yugi laughed softly.

“I miss the lotuses the most, though,” Mana said. “There are water lilies here, of course, in the gardens and ponds and stuff but...but I feel like the ones back home were brighter. Bigger....prettier. I don't know. But they were so big and bright and pretty, and there was...I dunno, some kind of hopefulness about them. I can't explain it.”

He could see those, too, in the back of his mind. Big white blossoms, floating along a lazy river, bobbing up and down on the silvery water.

But even as he could see the image, bright and clear in his mind, a frown came to his face. Something felt a little bit off.

_ “Other me...” _ Yugi said quietly.  _ “I...I don't think there are crocodiles or hippos in Syria. I don't think they have a lot of vegetation at all, actually...not even by a river.” _

Yami no Yugi had just been thinking the same thing. He glanced up at Mana, but she was focused on her painting again. She seemed to have lost her train of thought, her eyes not really looking at her work, either.

_ “Other me, if I had to guess...that sounded more like she was describing Egypt.” _

_ “But she says she came from Syria.” _

_ “I know...but...something about it just doesn't add up.” _

Both of them were quiet for a moment. Yami no Yugi dropped his eyes from Mana before she realized he was staring at her.

He could still see the lotuses in the back of his mind.

*  *  *

Kisara was sitting out on the Greys' porch when Yami no Yugi and the others approached. She didn't appear to be doing much of anything, just sitting and thinking. She brightened when she caught sight of the group, though, and jumped up from the bench.

“Hello, Kisara!” Mana said. “How are you?”

“Much better, thank you,” Kisara said. “How was school for everyone?”

“It was a lot of fun, like always!” Mana said.

“You're so bloody cheerful,” Dominic groaned. “How is school  _ fun _ ?”

“You're just mad because you forgot to write your paper that's due tomorrow,” Dawn said, pushing him with her elbow. “And now you have to try and scramble to finish it tonight.”

“I work best under pressure,” Dominic said, puffing out his chest as though this were some kind of achievement.

They made their way towards the Cherry Bites cafe. Kisara hadn't been here before, and her eyes sparkled at the brightly painted surfaces. 

“You've never had a hot chocolate?” Mana exclaimed when Kisara said she didn't even know what that was.

“Maybe, but I...I can't really remember...” Kisara said.

“Then we have to get you one! They're soooo good!”

“You're gonna need a better coat, too,” Dawn said, picking at Kisara's shoulder. The platinum-haired girl was currently wearing an old coat of Dawn's, which was a faded brown and unraveling a bit at the edges. “We should stop by the store before club.”

Kisara tried to protest, but Dawn simply ignored her until the girl's voice dropped to a soft mutter.

“What do you mean, 'club?'” Yami no Yugi asked.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you about it!” Mana said.

She clapped her hands excitedly.

“Dawn, Kay, Dom, and I are all in a dance club at the community center,” she said. “It's a lot of fun—you should come along?”

“I...I don't know much about dancing,” Yami no Yugi said.

“That's all right, I'm really bad at it too,” Mana said. “Cadence is amazing, though, right Cadence? Dom's not bad either!”

“When Dawn doesn't trip me,” Dominic said.

“That was  _ one _ time,” Dawn said.

“I don't know, maybe Yami isn't interested,” Cadence said. “You shouldn't force him, Mana.”

The way she said it made Yami tense up. It was like she was  _ trying _ to make sure he didn't come—and the look in her eyes when she caught his gaze said that she dared him to say something about it.

Well, he wasn't one to turn down a dare.

“Well, I'll at least come to watch,” he said. “I don't know about dancing, though.”

“Yippee!” Mana said. “What about you, Kisara?”

“It sounds like fun,” Kisara said. “I'll come along.”

“Awesome!” Dawn said.

Dominic grinned goofily. Cadence shot Yami no Yugi a cold glare, and Yami no Yugi returned it with an equal coolness.

“Oh, right,” Dawn said quickly. It was almost as though she were trying to draw attention away from Cadence and Yami's staring match. “Kisara, you wanted to know something that you could do while we're at school, right?”

“Oh, right,” Kisara said. “Well, I took a short walk around the square today, but nobody seems to be hiring...”

“Gah, Kisara, I said you don't have to get a job,” Dawn said.

“You're looking for a job, Kisara?” Dominic said.

“No, she's not,” Dawn said. “Dad says she has to rest up a bit more.”

“Well, my parents are always saying they want more help at the flower shop,” Dominic said. “It's probably the  _ least  _ stressful job in the world. Just watering the flowers and such—and arranging sometimes, and the cash register. D'you like flowers, Kisara?”

Kisara had brightened at Dominic's words, and she nodded.

“I love flowers,” she said. “Are you sure that's something I could do?”

“Sure, why not? I'll talk to my parents tonight and we'll see about getting you to come in tomorrow,” Dominic said. “They aren't officially hiring, but the way they complain about not having help during the day, well, they certainly need someone.”

Kisara's small smile was bright enough to light the whole room, and she sipped at her hot chocolate happily. Cadence was the only one that looked unhappy about the turn of events, or perhaps about the change in conversation. She had looked like she wanted to push Yami and Kisara to not attend the dance club before Dawn had drawn the attention away, and now her lips were tight and her gaze was cold—she looked like she was going to explode.

“So club starts in a forty five minutes, so we should –” Dawn started. “Oops!!”

She bumped the table as she stood up and the remains of her hot chocolate fell into Cadence's lap. Cadence gasped and swore softly at the still warm liquid.

“Oh, I'm so sorry, Kay! Come here, I'll help you wash it off in the bathroom,” Dawn said, grabbing Cadence's arm. “I'm so sorry!”

Cadence tried to protest, but Dawn was insistent, and practically dragged her from the table.

“Mana, everybody, why don't you go to the shop across the square and get Kisara a coat?” Dawn said. “We'll catch up.”

She pushed a few bills into Kisara's protesting hand and then Dawn pulled the reluctant Cadence off to the bathroom.

Yami no Yugi watched them go, thinking that something didn't feel quite right. The rest of the group, though, didn't seem too perturbed.

“Dawn and Kay are at it again, huh?” Dominic said with a grin. “Those two are always at each other's necks.”

“Really?” Yami no Yugi said.

“Oh, for sure. They don't really see eye to eye on anything, do they? Remember when they did that debate in history class?”

“Oh, gosh,” Mana said, rolling her eyes. “It was  _ horrible. _ I don't even remember what they were debating, do you? But they were shouting at each other by the end.”

“Cadence doesn't seem like the shouting type,” Kisara said, frowning.

Yami no Yugi privately agreed—she was too withdrawn for that.

“Only Dawn seems to be able to get under her skin like that,” Mana said. “But they  _ are  _ friends. They just have a funny way of showing it.”

Dominic muttered something that sounded like “might be more than friends sooner rather than later.”

She shook her head and smiled slightly. Then she finished off her hot chocolate and stood up.

“Okay! Let's see about getting you a coat, Kisara! And then we'll go to the club!”

Yami no Yugi finished his own drink, and the four headed for the door. Still, Yami no Yugi's eyes wandered to the bathroom where Dawn and Cadence had gone and started to wonder.

_ If Dawn really is the Dark Magician Girl, then why is she such enemies with Cadence? _

*  *  *

Despite all of Kisara's protesting, she looked incredibly happy with her new long, dark blue coat. She kept rubbing her hands inside the giant pockets, snuggling her face into her collar.

“You look great, Kisara,” Dawn said, hugging her. “Now aren't you glad that I made you buy it?”

Kisara mumbled something about paying her back later, to which Dawn tickled her and said there would be no such repayment—it was a present.

Yami no Yugi smiled, feeling more relaxed. Whatever Dawn had said to Cadence, she seemed to be ignoring him now rather than actively antagonizing him. It was as though she were resigned to the idea of him coming along to the dance club, and walked stiffly ahead of him without looking back. Dawn was skipping along beside Kisara, sneakily scooping up balls of snow and tossing them over everyone's heads in order to hit Dominic in the head. He retaliated, and Kisara ducked with a squeak as the pair of them starting chasing each other across the sidewalk with bigger and bigger piles of snow in their arms.

It was almost full dark already, even though it was barely five in the afternoon. It had started to snow lightly again—was it possible for there to be so much snow in one place? He could see vast fields of it between the houses, glowing slightly silver in the setting sun. It actually looked like...

“Look,” Mana whispered to him, pointing. “It's a silver desert!”

Yami no Yugi smiled. He had just been thinking the same thing.

“It's the literal polar opposite of the desert,” he said. “Like the sun versus the moon. Gold versus silver.”

Mana shivered a bit against the cold, but she was smiling.

“It is beautiful,” she said. “Even if it's not warm.”

“Yeah.”

Their breath mixed together in the air. It took Yami no Yugi a moment to realize just how close she was walking next to him, and the fact that they were the only two at the back of the group, with the other four still in a group in front. It sort of felt like they were alone together. And surprisingly, it didn't feel awkward—not the silence or the closeness, or the cold, or the vast fields of silver snow that looked like dunes of sand.

“It's quiet,” he said.

“Uh-huh,” she said.

He could almost feel her heat from the closeness of her frame. She was almost taller than him, but not quite. It felt...right, to be walking next to her. He sighed softly into his scarf. The cold didn't bother him so much tonight.

“Oh, we're here!” Mana said, pointing out the community center. “Thank goodness! I was going to freeze and lose all my fingers!”

Yami no Yugi laughed.

“Should have worn better gloves,” he said.

“It doesn't matter, my fingers are always cold in the winter,” Mana moaned.

The community center was a rather large building, with big glass doors that glowed yellow from the light inside. It was rather utilitarian, obviously of newer make than the shops in the square, and heat rushed into their faces as the group pushed inside.

The light was almost blinding after the darkness outside. He could hear the vague beats of music from a side room full of people doing some kind of workout routine. There was a large desk at the other side of the lobby, with doors on the left side leading into an exercise room and a hallway leading off to the right. A woman sat there, working on something on the computer. She paused only to glance up at the kids, nod, and then fix her glasses and push some of her short black hair behind her ears.

“That's Helena Fawn; she knows us cause we come in a lot,” Mana said, waving at the woman as they passed. The woman did not respond to the gesture, but perhaps she hadn't seen it. Mana giggled. “She's kinda rough around the edges. Doesn't like kids too much but tries to hide it.”

Yami no Yugi smiled slightly.

They headed down the hallway and passed several rooms before Dawn pushed through one on the left side of the hall. Inside was fair sized studio room with one wall completely covered in mirrors. There was already a small group of people inside, mostly girls. Some of them were leaning on the side railings used for ballet practice.

One of the group flounced over.

“Hello, hello, hello!” she said. “Mana, Cadence, Dominic, Dawn, nice to see all of you!”

“Hi Miss Thomas!” Dawn said. “We brought some friends along, is that okay?”

The little woman smiled brightly and nodded. Judging by Dawn's greeting, this was the instructor, although she didn't look old enough to be. She was barely taller than Yugi, with a round, cherubic face, large gray eyes, and her bright pink hair cut to shoulder length so that it bounced around her face childishly. Everything about her stature was petite, and she was dressed in a short, flouncy blue tutu, large golden teardrop earrings glittering from her earlobes. She had on a pair of giant glasses, so large that they almost took up fifty percent of her face, and she pushed them up excitedly when she caught sight of Yami no Yugi.

“Oh goodness!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “Finally another boy! Do you know, we haven't had an equal number in sooo long! Oh, well, we're still one male short, but that's all right, that's all right, we've never been closer to having the right number. Thank you for coming!”

She grabbed both of Yami no Yugi's hands and shook them exuberantly.

“Uh, actually, I'm just here to –” Yami no Yugi started, but she obviously wasn't listening.

“Okay, okay, time to get started everyone! I'm going to pair you up—what was your name again, dear?”

This last comment was directed towards Yami no Yugi, but he was so flustered that Dawn jumped into answer for him.

“This is Yami Mutou, he's an exchange student from Japan,” Dawn said. “Yami, this is our instructor, Cecelia Thomas.”

“Yami, pleased to meet you! Why don't you go over here with—Mana, yes, Mana, you two are about the same height that's perfect! You go over here, just stand there, that's a good lad, and Dominic could you take Angelica, please, Dawn with Jonathan, and oh, you, young lady, what's your name? Kisara, all right Kisara, why don't you go ahead with Cadence there, we're still one young man short but Cadence is quite good at doing either part of the dance and she'll help you along there—oh, don't any of you have boyfriends you could bring along? Just one more is all I need...all right, all right, I'm going to start the music, and could the old hands show the new ones the basic steps, please? I'll be around to help out and fix things.”

She talked and moved so quickly that before Yami no Yugi knew what was happening he was being pushed towards Mana and Cecelia was arranging him in the right position before flouncing off to help Kisara with Cadence.

“Um...” Yami no Yugi started.

Mana giggled.

“Probably should have warned you about her,” she said. “She's pretty energetic.”

“I suppose I could agree with that,” he said with a small laugh. “Although...I have no idea how to do any of this.”

“You take my hand, here, like this, and your other one comes down right here at my waist, okay? And my hand is on your shoulder, like this.”

She moved his hands into the right positions. He felt a little awkward about being in such close contact, but Mana didn't seem perturbed, so he tried to relax.

“You're the guy, so you technically have to lead,” she said. “Which just means that you're going to step forward, and I step back, so just follow me, okay?”

“All right,” he said, feeling suddenly nervous down to the pit of his stomach. He had never felt so out of place, so odd. Not even a duel had made him feel this on edge.

Yugi was laughing at the back of his head.

_ “Shut up,” _ he muttered.  _ “How about I make you switch out with me and we'll see how you like it.” _

Yugi just giggled again and withdrew far enough into the back of Yami no Yugi's mind that nothing short of Yami no Yugi going unconscious would be able to draw him back out. Yami no Yugi sighed, and then Cecelia was punching the radio button and classical music was filling the studio room.

Mana pulled him along as he tripped over the steps. How could anyone think all this spinning was fun? She giggled at him.

“You're so stiff!” she said. “Relax!”

“Trying,” Yami no Yugi said. “But I don't know how this works.”

“Just follow me, see? One, two, three, one, two, three, come on, it's easy!”

Easy was not the word for it. Yami no Yugi knew how cards and strategy worked, but he had absolutely no idea what direction he needed to put his feet. Mana laughed again as he tripped and nearly dragged her over. In the background, Cecelia was clapping the beat out as she flitted around, fixing someone's positioning or pausing a pair to demonstrate what they needed to fix.

Over Mana's shoulder, he could see Dominic was doing incredibly well with his partner. Dawn was a little bouncier than the other groups, but she seemed to know what she was doing. Despite this being her first time, Kisara glided along elegantly with Cadence leading. Yami no Yugi found himself blushing slightly—he was horrible at this. How did his body even function?

“It's okay, everybody messes up the first time,” Mana said, although she was trying not to giggle at him. “My first time, I stepped on my partner's shoe and went flying into Cadence, and we made a domino pile of about five people in the middle of the room. At least you're not at that point!”

“I might be in a minute,” Yami no Yugi muttered as he accidentally trod on Mana's toe for the second time.

She didn't even flinch, and her smile didn't falter.

“But this is fun, isn't it?” she said. “You have to relax, silly.”

He didn't want to relax. He had to focus so that he wouldn't step on Mana's feet anymore, or so he wouldn't trip and repeat Mana's domino trick.

But her cheer was rather infectious, and after a few moments, he realized that by focusing too hard on his motions, he was actually having more trouble. He tried his hardest to relax his shoulders.

The music flooded around them, Cecelia's clapping of the rhythm becoming little more than white noise. Mana grinned at him.

“Now you're getting it,” she said, delighted.

Yami no Yugi half-smiled. But she was right. By not focusing as hard, he found that it was a little bit easier. Maybe this was fun after all. Mana seemed to be excited. And that made him want to smile too. Her hand was warm in his, and he didn't feel quite so awkward being this close to her anymore. It almost felt normal.

Like they had done this before.

He was surprised when Mana started to slow down.

_ Oh, _ he thought.  _ The music's over. _

They came to a stop.

“You did really great!” Mana said.

“You're a good teacher, I guess,” Yami no Yugi said.

It took him half a second to realize that he and Mana were still standing in the dancing position, while the other pairs had started to break apart. He could feel her pulse against the hand that rested against her waist. Quickly he dropped his hand from her. She smiled broadly at him, bouncing on her heels—she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Yami no Yugi felt like his face was growing warm, though, and he didn't think it was from exertion.

He had liked that, he thought. He had liked that a lot.

“Okay, take a quick break while I try to figure out what's wrong with the radio,” Cecelia called across the room. “Then find a new partner, okay? We'll going to work on the one we learned last week.”

There were a few groans when she said to find a new partner, mostly from pairs that appeared to still be holding hands. Yami no Yugi was just glad for the breather. Mana bounced off to talk to Dawn, and Yami no Yugi leaned against the ballet railing. After a beat, Dominic joined him.

“Whoo!” he said. “That was a good warm up, eh? How'd you like your first dance, then?”

“It was....interesting.”

“You didn't do half bad. Mana was having fun.”

Yami no Yugi smiled, eyes lingering on Mana's excited smile as she talked to Dawn.

“I'm glad,” he said. “Although I think I trod on her toes more than a few times.”

Dominic guffawed, but hid it behind one hand.

“Good, good, she did that to me way too many times her first time here; finally she gets pay back.”

The auburn haired boy gave Yami no Yugi a sidelong glance.

“Hey,” he said. “You enjoying yourself, then?”

“I guess.”

Dominic grinned.

“Then how about that, huh?”

He tapped the wall behind him. Curious, Yami no Yugi followed his finger. Dominic was pointing at a power taped to the wall: it was a plain thing, just white with some black snowflake designs on the edges. In curvy letters, it said  _ Winter Ball, December 7 _ _ th _ _. _ There was more information about prices and times. The location was the school, apparently.

“What about it?” Yami no Yugi said.

“Well, you should come along with all of us, right?” Dominic said. “We've been going every year. You should come.”

“I don't know....”

Cecelia smacked the radio in the back one more time, and music started to play from it. She hastily paused it.

“Okay, new partners, let's go, we're practicing last week's dance,” she called, hands cupped around her mouth.

“Good luck,” Dominic said, pushing off the railing to go grab Dawn.

Yami no Yugi hesitated. He didn't really know anyone else here—Dominic had just paired off with Dawn, Kisara had ended up with a young man Yami no Yugi didn't recognize, and so help him if he was forced to dance with Cadence. Maybe he could secretly fade into the background without anyone noticing that he wasn't dancing.

A girl sidled up to him. She was of a short, thin frame, no taller than himself, with thick, wavy red hair, a fair freckled face, and hazel eyes. He recognized her as one of the girls he had seen in the lunch room the other day. What had Dominic called them? A pack of wolves, or something.

“Hey, do you need a partner?” she asked.

She said it in a tone that reminded Yami no Yugi of Kujaku Mai. She was even flicking her bangs in that same sort of way as the blonde woman. Yami no Yugi felt a little guarded—he didn't really know what the girl was up to, but Mai only did stuff like that when she was trying to throw you off guard.

_ “Stupid, other me,” _ Yugi giggled at him.  _ “She's just flirting with you. This isn't a duel, silly.” _

_ “She's...what?” _

Yami no Yugi blushed slightly.

“I, uh, I'm sorry, I don't...”

He didn't know how to deal with this—how on earth did one talk to girls like this anyway? Flirting? Even with Yugi's memories he wasn't quite understanding of the topic. He couldn't seem to recall any time in Yugi's life in which a girl had acted this way towards him—besides, of course, Mai, who usually was just doing it to make the opponent lower their guard.

“Oh, you don't have to be shy,” she said. She giggled, one hand in held in front of her mouth as though she were trying to hide it. “I'm pretty good so –”

“Yami!” Mana said, bouncing over. “Miss Thomas said you can stay with me because you're new! Oh, hi, how are you?”

She was addressing the other girl with her last sentence. The girl's face fell, and she even looked a tad angry as she wandered back onto the floor. Yami no Yugi let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

“Thanks,” he said.

“No problem,” Mana said.

Then she almost laughed, but pressed her lips together so that it only came out as a snort.

“What? What's so funny?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“Your face was priceless,” Mana giggled. “You looked sooo awkward. It was kind of cute—what, you've never talked to a girl before?”

“I'm talking to one now, aren't I?” Yami no Yugi said.

Mana giggled again, and in spite of Yami no Yugi's embarrassment, he smiled too.

“Anyway, Miss Thomas didn't actually say that, but you looked like you needed to be rescued,” Mana said. “Don't worry about it, though, she never notices when we don't switch partners.”

“Thank you double, then,” Yami no Yugi said. “I'm nearly positive I would have broken that poor girl's toes.”

“My toes aren't good enough to be saved?” Mana said, fake pouting.

“Obviously, you're able to handle it judging by the last dance,” Yami no Yugi said.

“Point taken.”

Mana laughed again, then she grabbed his hand as the music started to play.

“Come on! Let's go!”

With more laughter bubbling in his chest, he let her pull him onto the floor and move his hands into the right position. It didn't feel too awkward, this time. In fact, he was looking forward to it. He was in such a good mood that it was easy to ignore Cadence's cold stare over her partner's shoulder. The music began, and Mana started to lead Yami no Yugi through the steps again.

“Follow me, this way, oops! No that was my bad, just slow down a bit, good, good, you're getting it!”

Yami no Yugi's heart rose and fell with the music. Mana felt warm under his touch. This was comfortable—almost familiar somehow. He didn't dislike the feeling. Mana looked up at him with her dark green eyes. She smiled broadly.

His heart felt so full that he didn't realize what he was saying until he said it.

“Mana, do you want to go to that Winter Ball with me?”

Mana's eyes widened. For a moment her smile slipped with surprise. Then it returned larger than ever.

“Yes!” she said. “Yes, I do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> white carnation = sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love


	6. Midnight Viscaria

Cold. He was so, so, so cold. Why was it so cold? Uugh.

Someone was shouting—or were they? It was hard to tell. It sounded muffled. Far away. It was so _ cold... _

Yami no Yugi stirred out of his sleep. It felt like he was struggling out of thick molasses. For a few moments, he couldn't connect with Yugi's senses, and for a terrifying second he was completely lost in the darkness without any sound or sight.

Then it all flooded into consciousness and relief washed over him. A soft, gentle morning light was coming in through the sheer curtains. Yugi wasn't wearing socks or slippers, and while Yugi didn't seem to care it was somewhat uncomfortable to Yami no Yugi even though he wasn't in control right now. The young boy was chattering away to the faces on his computers screen—oh, Anzu and everyone was up.

_ “Good morning, partner...how long have you been awake?” _

“Oh!” Yugi said. “Just a sec, other me is up.”

Yugi's voice echoed back to him.

_ “It's only been about an hour or so. Don't worry, it's Saturday, you can sleep!” _

Saturday. Right. It had been a day since the ballroom dance club, and today was the day of the dance itself.

For some reason the coldness of his dreams felt like it was lingering, although he didn't technically have a sense of touch while Yugi was in control. His incorporeal body shuddered slightly. No, he did not feel like sleeping right now.

“How is the other Yugi doing?” Anzu asked, her voice a bit grainy coming through the screen.

“Yeah, buddy, how're you liking that cold winter, huh?” Jonouchi said, grinning. “I'll have you know that it's still pretty balmy up here, you jealous?”

“Oh shut up, Jonouchi, it's been just as cold here as it is there,” Honda said. “We just didn't get the snow to go with it.”

“Yeah well snow's a pain in the ass to get rid of, so I ain't complain'!”

“Can you boys stop bantering for five seconds so we can hear Yugi talk??” Anzu said. “Geez!”

Ryo was there too in his own screen, but he just chuckled softly at the flinch that crossed Honda and Jonouchi's faces at her outburst.

“We're both doing great,” Yugi said. “Everyone here is so friendly. I can't wait for all of you to meet them.”

Yami no Yugi smiled. Yes, it would be nice when the rest of the normal crew showed up for Christmas. The peace here was nice, but it wasn't quite the same without his friends.

“Well, you make friends without trying, Yugi-kun,” Ryo said, smiling.

“Actually, other me's been doing most of the talking lately,” Yugi said.

_ “Oh, don't tell them that, partner...” _

_ “Why not? I'm glad that you're making friends on your own!” _

“Really? D'they know about, y'know, there being two of you?” Jonouchi asked.

Yugi hesitated for just the space of a breath. Yami no Yugi knew instantly that he was thinking of Dawn. How much should they say? 'Oh, right, the Dark Magician Girl is here somehow. It probably doesn't mean anything.' Right, like they would believe that. They'd instantly assume that there was something about to destroy the world. Not that that wasn't a possibility, but for now, Yami no Yugi privately didn't think that was the case here. If Dawn truly was the Dark Magician Girl, she was here for different reasons—reasons that Yami no Yugi wanted to tease out eventually, but were not important right now. There was no point in worrying their friends.

“I don't think so,” Yugi said. “I mean, it took you guys a while to notice. We haven't been here for very long, and there hasn't really been any major crazy things happening that would make that stick out, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jonouchi said. “Just...yeah. Sometimes it's hard for me to get my head around, ya know? I just kinda wonder what other people would think.”

“Well, if they're really friends, then they won't mind,” Anzu said, matter-of-factly. “Everyone sounds really wonderful, Yugi. I really can't wait to come up and meet them.”

“You'll all get along really well,” Yugi said. “I promise.”

Yami no Yugi surfaced for a brief moment.

“In the mean time, Jonouchi, Honda, you should probably work on your English,” he said, with a mischievous smile. “It was pretty bad the last time I heard it.”

“Aw, geez, Yug, why ya gotta remind me of that?” Jonouchi said. “Don't worry, don't worry, Honda'n I are practicing by watching a buncha English movies.”

“Terrible English movies,” Honda muttered.

“I heard that!”

“Don't worry, Bakura-kun and I will get them sorted out,” Anzu said, winking.

Ryo sighed.

“Yes, if they stop skipping out on tutoring sessions.”

“I—I was busy!” Jonouchi said.

“More like, scared to show how bad you are at English,” Anzu teased.

“Aw, shut it, Anzu, we can't all be the class representative!”

Yugi giggled. Yami no Yugi cracked a small smile back in his soul room—he really did miss hearing his friends' usual banter.

“Well, I'm going to have to head to work,” Anzu said. “I'll talk to you later, Yugi!”

“Sure thing!”

“I believe Jonouchi and Honda have a paper due tomorrow, so they should probably get going too,” Ryo said dryly.

“Aw, come on, Bakura, I was trying to forget about that!” Jonouchi said.

“How did you even know that we hadn't done it yet??” Honda said.

“Intuition. See you around, Yugi.”

“See you, Bakura-kun.”

“All right, talk to ya later, Yug!” Jonouchi said.

“See you, Yugi,” Honda said.

“Good luck with your papers,” Yugi grinned.

Both boys groaned, and logged off. Ryo's screen also went blank. Anzu hesitated for a brief moment. Then she flashed a smile, and logged off herself. Yugi shut the computer off. He leaned back in his chair.

“Huh,” he said. “So, what should we do today? The dance isn't until seven. It's only ten.”

The dance. He had been avoiding thinking about it without really realizing it, but suddenly it came back to him and he felt a curious twisty feeling in his stomach.

“Are you nervous?” Yugi teased.

_ “What would I be nervous about?” _

“You asked Mana to a dance! That's something to be nervous about!”

_ “We're just going to a dance.” _

“Other me, that's what people do on dates, you know.”

_ “....I...I don't know much about things like that. We're friends, Yugi.” _

“Friends that really, really like dancing together.”

_ “...you know, I don't tease you about Anzu.” _

Yugi flushed slightly, but didn't drop his grin.

“You're just annoyed cause I know what you're thinking,” he said, popping up from his chair. “Huh, I wonder what everyone here does on the weekends?”

There was a soft tap on the door. Yugi hesitated.

“Yes?”

“It's Dawn, can I come in?”

“Oh, sure!”

The door creaked open partway, and Dawn peeked in.

“Ummmm,” she said. “Cadence is outside. She says she wants to talk to you...”

Dawn didn't look happy about the idea. Yami no Yugi didn't  _ feel _ happy about the idea. What did Cadence want now? She had studiously ignored Yami no Yugi all of yesterday, not even a glare. She had looked almost furious when Mana had mentioned that he was going to the dance with her, but hadn't even looked in Yami no Yugi's direction. What did she want now?

Yami no Yugi switched into control.

“What does she want?”

“I dunno,” Dawn said. “But...sorry, red-eyed Yugi, I think she wants to talk to purple-eyed Yugi.”

Yami no Yugi hesitated for a moment. A dozen questions flooded through his mind and he wasn't sure which to voice first.

“...how does she know?”

Dawn bit her lip.

“...I really think you should just go talk to her.”

Her eyebrows were really tightly close to each other—she looked almost pained.

“Please, I think...I hope that maybe this will be okay....just talk to her, okay?”

She ducked back from the door. Yami no Yugi didn't move. His hands had curled into fists without him realizing it.

“What do you think?” he asked softly.

Yugi didn't answer for a moment.

_ “Let me talk to her,”  _ he said.

Yami no Yugi nodded and withdrew. Yugi pulled some socks from the dresser and pulled them on as he headed down to the door. He slipped into his boots. If she was just outside, he didn't think there was a need for a coat, so he just opened the door.

Instantly, both of them regretted it, as it was freezing outside and the air whooshed in like knives cutting through them. Yugi gritted his teeth, though, and said nothing. Because Cadence was just standing outside the door.

She looked even taller than normal for some reason. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest. It was the first time he had ever seen her without her school uniform: she was dressed in a long dark gray trench coat and obviously had a black dress on underneath, the lacy trim rippling around her feet. He supposed she was wearing heels, and that was why she looked taller, although how anyone could wear heels in this weather was beyond him.

“What's up?” Yugi asked.

There was none of Cadence's usual coldness in her eyes—just a sort of resignation.

“I am talking to the original Yugi, correct? Not the spirit in your pendant.”

Yugi drew inwards slightly, guarded. It was true—she knew, too. Not only Dawn had noticed. But then, how did Cadence know? And how did she know about the Puzzle?

“Yes, you're talking to Yugi, not Yami,” Yugi said.

Cadence snorted softly, as though she found the name “Yami” ridiculous. She did not, however, comment on that.

“What do you want?” Yugi said. “You've been really kind of rude to the other me, you know?”

Cadence's lips pressed into a thin line.

“I have my reasons for what I am doing, Mutou Yugi. Reasons that for now I don't wish to share. I am here to appeal to your common sense.”

“I don't know what you mean,” Yugi said.

“I understand that the spirit of your pendant has taken it into his head to attend the dance with my friend Mana.”

“Yeah, and she said yes. So why do you care? Friends should be happy for each other.”

Cadence's face hardened.

“I'm asking you to step back from this,” she said. “Think about it, Mutou Yugi. The spirit of your pendant doesn't belong to this world anymore. Is it fair for him to raise Mana's hopes up for something that will never happen? Is it fair to give her this happiness and snatch it away from her? The spirit won't be here forever. Think about it.”

Yami no Yugi could feel Yugi's sudden burst of rage so acutely that it actually made him flinch.

“No,  _ you _ think about it,” Yugi snapped. “You think because something is going to end it's not worth happening in the first place? I guess no one should do anything ever because we're all just going to die anyway! Maybe it will hurt, but in the end I think it will always be worth it to be happy! And if you're really Mana's friend, you'll want her to be happy! So leave the other me alone, because he deserves happiness too!”

A rush of gratitude washed over Yami no Yugi. Cadence's words had struck a painful chord with him, but his partner's anger on his behalf...that had meant so much more.

Cadence's eyes flashed. Her lips pressed together even tighter.

“....Fine,” she said. “I can't say I didn't try.”

She turned on her heel and began to click down the recently cleared sidewalk. Yugi glared after her. His fists were actually shaking slightly.

Then, suddenly, Cadence paused. She glanced over her shoulder, her braid tossing back against her back.

“Don't you think it's getting colder out?” she said, voice barely above a whisper.

Then, without explanation, she turned away, and continued on.

Yugi scowled after her.

“What's her problem, anyway?” he muttered, turning back into the house.

But Yami no Yugi felt a strange uneasiness settle over him.

_ Don't you think it's getting colder out? _

What was that supposed to mean?

**. . .**

“Wow!!! You look awesome, Yami!”

Yami no Yugi didn't  _ feel _ awesome. He felt, simply put,  _ ridiculous. _

Dawn squealed, clapping her hands. Then she came over to adjust his tie, as he had been pulling at it dubiously.

“Stop touching it, stop touching it, ooooh, there you go, great!”

It was only five in the evening and Dawn was a whirlwind of activity. She kept fussing over Yami, fixing his tie or his tuxedo—he hadn't known this was going to be such a formal event.

Yugi was giggling at him in the back of his head. Yami no Yugi reminded him silently that this was technically  _ his _ body that was getting fussed over, but Yugi still continued to giggle.

Dawn finally found herself satisfied with the fit of the rented tuxedo, and she stepped back to look him over.

“Great!” she said. “I hope that tie's the right color. Mana wouldn't show me her dress, she just pointed to a colored pencil that was 'close enough' to the color of her dress. Oh well. Can't go too wrong with dark purple, I guess.”

_ “Are ties supposed to match the girl's dress?” _ Yami no Yugi asked Yugi.

_ “Yeah, I guess,” _ Yugi said.  _ “I guess you want to match your partner, right?” _

Yami no Yugi blushed a little bit. Luckily, Dawn was distracted by Kisara opening the bathroom door.

“Um, Dawn...could you, um...zip this...?”

“Oh! Sure, be right there! Stop playing with your tie, Yami, I just got it situated!”

Dawn disappeared into the bathroom. A couple beats later, the door burst open.

“Ta-da!” she announced.

Kisara flushed a bright pink. She was wearing a sky-blue dress with a thick silver belt and a straight neckline just beneath her collarbone. The dress had some light gauzy material that flowed over the shoulders and reattached around her wrists. It flowed into a light silver gradient from the bodice to the end of the skirt, and the tiny pleats made it look like water rushing down a falls every time she moved and set it rippled. Dawn had done her hair, too, putting part of it up into an elaborate half ponytail and letting the rest spill down across her shoulders.

“You look beautiful, Kisara-san,” Yami no Yugi said, seeing her discomfort.

She blushed a little deeper, but smiled anyway.

“So you are able to come after all, then?” Yami no Yugi said. “Dawn said there was a problem because you aren't enrolled.”

“I signed a guest form for her!” Dawn said, grinning. “So that means you're my date tonight, Kisara!”

She threw her arms around Kisara's shoulders, prompting further blushing.

“Dawn...” Kisara mumbled.

Yami no Yugi couldn't help but grin.

“Okay, I gotta change. Dom's gonna be here in a minute, and then dad's gonna drive us to meet Mana and Cadence at the school.”

She ducked into the bathroom without a word, leaving Yami no Yugi and Kisara alone.

Kisara fidgeted. She kept looking at the couch like she wanted to sit down, but seemed afraid of messing up her dress.

“It's kind of weird, huh?” Yami no Yugi said. “I've never worn one of these before.”

“I can't remember if I've ever worn a dress,” Kisara said.

She gripped her skirt between her hands, slowly swishing it back and forth and staring at the ripples as though it were mesmerizing.

“Although...it feels kind of familiar....the color, I mean. Maybe the dress, too.”

She frowned slightly. Then she shook her head.

“Oh, I shouldn't be worrying myself. Tonight's a good night, right?”

Yami no Yugi smiled. He himself had been trying to put Cadence's confrontation out of his mind. At least he wasn't the only one worrying on a night that was supposed to be enjoyable.

“Right,” he said. “Let's try to have fun.”

Kisara nodding, smiling.

The bathroom door burst open.

“Make way for meeee!” Dawn said in a singsong voice.

Her dress was nowhere near as elaborate as Kisara's, but it had a definite elegance to it. It was a deep, deep blue, with silver trim beneath the bust. The low neckline was straight and sleeveless, and the skirt fell straight, the fabric clinging close to her curves. She had done her hair in an elaborate updo and had even applied perfect makeup—how had she done all of that in such a short span of time?

_ “If ever there was proof that she's the Dark Magician Girl, that might be it,” _ Yugi joked.

Yami no Yugi laughed a little himself.

“You look beautiful, Dawn,” Kisara said.

“Aww, thanks!” Dawn said, flipping her skirt back and forth.

A knock sounded from the door.

“Ah! That'll be Dom!” Dawn said. She hurried off, as though it were physically impossible for her to remain still. A moment later, she came back with Dominic. He, too, was wearing a suit, although his tie was a dark maroon.

“Not one, but two lovely ladies!” Dominic said brightly, bowing towards Kisara. Kisara blushed and ducked her head. Dominic grinned and held up the small box in his hands.

“What's that?” Yami no Yugi said.

“Corsages, of course,” he said. “I'm from a flower shop, remember? Here, Dawn, here's yours for Kisara.”

“Perfect!” Dawn said, taking the small bunch of white flowers from Dominic. “Here you are, my lady!”

She bowed to Kisara with a flourish and then pulled the stretchy part of the bracelet around Kisara's wrist.

“Carnations,” Dominic said. “Sweet and lovely flowers for a sweet and lovely person. Here, Kisara, you can give this one to Dawn.”

He handed Kisara another flower bracelet, this one also with white flowers, although a different shade.

“Those are crocuses—appropriate for someone as cheerful as you, Dawn,” Dominic said.

“You and your flower symbolism,” Dawn said, giggling. Kisara blushed and struggled a bit to put Dawn's corsage on.

“I've got a viscaria one for you, Yami,” Dominic said. “Give to Mana at the dance.”

He handed Yami no Yugi the flower bracelet. This one was made with small pinkish-purple flowers.

“And what does this one mean?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“'Will you dance with me?'” Dominic said, grinning. “I found it appropriate.”

“I guess,” Yami no Yugi said.

He cradled the flowers, smiling at them. They were so tiny, so beautiful. Even in the cold of this winter, there were flowers. That seemed a very cheerful thought to him.

“What did you get for Cadence?” Dawn asked.

“Pink chrysanthemum,” Dominic said. “Thought I'd play it safe. Chrysanthemums are just for friendship. Unless they're red. I went with pink instead.”

“Good plan, Cadence knows as much about flowers as you do,” Dawn said. “No sneaking a red rose in on her!”

Dominic chuckled.

“She only knows about them because I talk about them. Well, should we get going? Or does anyone need to finish getting fancied up?”

“We're ready,” Dawn said. “ _ DAD! WE'RE READY TO GO!” _

Darcy appeared almost instantly from the kitchen.

“Well, why didn't you say so?” he said with a quiet, joking smile.

They piled into Darcy's car, Kisara in the passenger seat and the other three squeezing into the very back.

Not more than two minutes had passed before Dawn started singing show tunes Yami no Yugi had never heard of before, and Dominic joined in with the harmonies, until they devolved into bickering over the details of a lyric.

“You never even saw that show, what are you talking about? You don't know anything about theater!”

“I know just as much as you do, and I'm telling you that you heard the lyrics wrong! He's totally singing 'ducks'!”

“Why would he say ducks?? It's a love song!”

“Maybe he likes ducks!”

“We're here,” Darcy said, sounding relieved. “Everybody out. Careful, it's icy.”

“Thanks!” Dawn said, bouncing out into the cold.

Yami no Yugi shuddered as he stepped out, pausing to reach back to Kisara and help her steady herself.

“I don't remember ever wearing heels,” she muttered.

He laughed softly, and then Dawn rushed over to sweep Kisara away.

“Go away, Yami,” she teased. “Kisara's  _ my _ date tonight! You can have Mana!”

Yami no Yugi shook his head as Dawn dragged Kisara to the doors.

“Does she ever slow down?”

“Nope,” Dominic said. “Come on, let's not keep our ladies waiting!”

He strutted down the sidewalk so exaggeratedly that he almost slipped on the ice. He tried to make it look like he meant it by doing a jazz hand motion at the end of the slide, but he only succeeded in making himself look more ridiculous.

“Thank you for the ride,” Yami no Yugi said to Darcy.

“No problem,” Darcy said, smiling.

He looked so incredibly familiar. That smile was...nostalgic somehow. Yami no Yugi shook his head.

“Have fun,” Darcy said. “Don't keep Mana waiting any longer.”

“I won't,” Yami no Yugi said.

But for some reason, the way Darcy said it made it seem...deeper somehow. Yami no Yugi closed his eyes for a brief moment. Then he headed for the doors.

At first it was too bright, even though most of the lights were actually off.

“Yami!”

Mana barrelled across the room and practically steamrollered him, almost taking them both over.

“Gah!”

“Oops!”

She grabbed him before he toppled over.

“That was enthusiastic,” Yami no Yugi said.

Mana blushed, but she didn't stop smiling. And then he blushed too, because she looked incredible.

She was wearing a lavender dress, with layers upon layers of gauzy material making up the poofy skirt. Floral decals were sewn along the bottom of the bodice and spiraled down part of the skirt. The bodice was characterized by thick, dark purple ribbons crisscrossing each other, moving up past the bodice to wrap around her neck in place of sleeves.

“You look....great,” Yami no Yugi said, after realizing he was staring.

“Thanks!” Mana said. “I love this dress! You look pretty fetching yourself!”

Yami no Yugi smiled, although he felt embarrassed.

“I feel a little silly, but thank you,” he said. “Oh! Here!”

He held up the corsage. Mana's eyes sparkled.

“Oh! It's beautiful! Thank you!”

“Dominic's idea,” Yami no Yugi mumbled.

She giggled.

“I figured, he always does this. He regaled you with the meanings of the flowers too, didn't he?”

“He certainly did,” Yami no Yugi said.

After a beat of hesitation, he reached out and took her hand lightly in his. He lifted it so that he could stretch the corsage around her wrist, but after it was there, he didn't want to drop her hand. There was a soft warmth against his fingers, pulsing from her heart. They stood like that for a moment, just looking at the corsage.

Yami no Yugi cleared his throat.

“I've been told that this flower's meaning is a question,” he said. “So giving it to you...I guess I'm asking that question. Mana, will you dance with me?”

Mana's smile was bright enough to light an entire city.

“Of course,” she said.

His fingers entwined with hers, and they walked out towards the dance floor.

The music hadn't started yet, but couples were milling about. Yami no Yugi saw Dominic with Cadence, who was dressed in a form fitting dark red dress that flared out just around the legs with white fabric revealed beneath, tight white decals wrapping around the waist and knee areas. She appeared to be avoiding looking at him. Yami no Yugi decided to follow suit. He didn't need her toxicity tonight.

Tonight, it was just him and Mana.

There were a few tapping sounds from a microphone, a sort of test, test sound. Then the speakers starting picking up the music, and people started to find their partners.

The first dance was a medium paced one without any vocals. Mana and Yami took each other's hands.

Mana ended up taking the lead after Yami no Yugi trod on her toes a few too many times. There was actually less dancing and more of them falling into each other and laughing, but most people were doing that. The second song jumped up to a dance club beat, and then it wasn't just couple dancing anymore, groups of friends were drawing together and just basically jumping up and down to the beat. Yami no Yugi couldn't have held in his smiles and laughter if he tried. Dominic twirled into the group and started trying to breakdance with little success, especially after Dawn pushed him over. Mana squealed with laughter. Even Cadence cracked a smile.

_ “Wish Anzu could have been here for this,”  _ Yugi said.  _ “She would have loved it!” _

_ “I know,” _ Yami no Yugi said, breathless.  _ “This is actually kind of tiring. But I can see why Anzu enjoys dancing so much.” _

More songs flew by, just blurs of noise, lights, and laughter as everyone bounced around with a wild abandon. Yami no Yugi could really not remember the last time he had laughed so much. The music slowed down again, and once more, Mana grabbed Yami no Yugi and pulled him to dance with her.

He could feel her heartbeat against his hand on her waist. He was sure she could feel his from her hand on his shoulder, it was beating so fast. He hadn't done this much exercise in...well, ever.

There wasn't a need to talk, though. He was glad, because he was sure he wouldn't be able to put words together. He and Mana just swayed slowly to the rhythm, sharing each other's heartbeat. They just shared gazes silently, smiling like dorks. 

“Yami,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome...but for what?”

She giggled.

“For tonight, of course, silly! This is a lot of fun. I'm glad you're here.”

“I'm glad you're here, too. Thank you for coming with me.”

She blushed.

“I'm really, really happy I met you,” she said.

“Me too,” Yami no Yugi said.

She looked like she was going to say something else.

Then that song was over, and it started to pick up in speed again. Mana drew back, dropping her arms to her sides.

“Whoo!” she said. “I'm getting really tired! I need a drink do you need a drink I think I'll go get a drink be right back!”

She ducked away, face a bright red, before he could interject, and she disappeared quickly in the mass of dancing bodies. What had just happened? Had he done something wrong? Why had she left so quickly? He suddenly felt a tad sick, and it was much warmer in here than he had realized. Dawn twirled over to him.

“Ooooh, did you scare her away?” she said, her cheeks red from dancing and her smile huge.

“I don't know what I did...”

“Oh, it's fine, she's just...well.  _ You _ know.”

He did not know, however, her mischievous smile seemed to indicate that she thought otherwise.

“Anyway, you should totally switch out with Yugi, it's his turn to dance with me,” she said. “You don't get to have all the fun!”

Yami no Yugi couldn't argue with that, even though Yugi started protesting wildly. Yami no Yugi laughed mischievously as he ducked into the puzzle anyway. Yugi muttered at him about leaving him in an awkward position next time, but then Dawn swept the boy away into the dance.

It was quieter in the Puzzle, although he could still hear the bass thrumming through him. Still, it was a much-needed break from the constant barrage of noise and motion. He took a moment to breathe.

This was actually a lot more fun than he had expected. He didn't know of anything like this in Japan. He did wonder where Mana had gone, though. And why so abruptly? Had he done something wrong?

Dawn's exuberance tired Yugi out even faster than Yami no Yugi had gotten tired, and he begged Yami no Yugi to switch with him. Laughing, Yami no Yugi took control over again, feeling the relieved sigh of his partner at the back of his head. His ears popped slightly as he readjusted to the music. Oh, it really was loud, wasn't it?

“I'm going to find Mana,” he called over the music.

“Good!” Dawn shouted back, and she ran off to grab Kisara and start twirling her around.

Yami no Yugi smiled and shook his head. Then he took on the task of weaving through the mob of constantly moving people. It was like trying to crawl through shifting sand, he thought.

Finally, though, he made it to the end of the dance floor. He didn't see Mana right away. Oh, right, didn't she say something about a drink? There was a table across the room with refreshments, and a few people were crowded around it. He made his way over.

There she was, hovering over the punch bowl, gripping her plastic cup in both hands as she shifted back and forth on her feet, biting her lip and staring at nothing. Yami no Yugi hesitated. Maybe she had wanted a moment to breath by herself—maybe he shouldn't have followed her.

She seemed to startle out of her reverie, and their eyes met across the room. A faint pink warmed her tan cheeks. Yami no Yugi smiled hesitantly. After a beat, he crossed the last of the distance so that he was standing across from her.

“I...sorry. I was just wondering where you ended up...”

“Oh, sorry, I was gonna come back and then I spaced out,” Mana said. “I've been doing that a lot lately...sorry!”

“No, don't apologize. I need a short break from that, too.”

The bass was still incredibly loud, and they were both almost shouting to be heard. Yami no Yugi realized with a start that he was also incredibly thirsty, and he picked up one of the already full cups of punch. Mana squeezed her cup between her fingers without drinking it. For a moment, there was only the music between them.

Yami no Yugi's eyes wandered towards the doors. He saw a couple stepping outside into the parking lot.

“Want to step outside for a moment?” he said.

“That's a good idea,” Mana said.

The cold rush of air sucked his breath away as they stepped outside. Instantly, they were wrapped in a chill and silence. His ears rang softly, but it was a comforting sort of feeling. The way the silence hung over them was a relief from the noise, fun as the dance was so far.

“Much better,” Mana sighed. “I can only handle the music for so long, you know?”

“Yeah,” Yami no Yugi said. “It's cold out here, though.”

Mana hugged her arms as though just noticing it. Her dress didn't have any sleeves. Frowning, he shrugged his tux jacket off.

“Here,” he said.

“Oh, no I'm fine...you'll be cold...”

“I'm wearing a long-sleeved shirt, I can handle it a bit better.”

Mana hesitated for just a brief second. Then she took the jacket from his outstretched hand and slung it over her shoulders, wrapping it around herself without putting her arms through the sleeves.

“Thanks,” she said.

He nodded. They stood quietly for a moment. The silence hung heavily, their breath spiraling up tendrils of steam.

“Oh,” Mana said. “It's snowing.”

Yami no Yugi had just noticed the first flakes. They were tiny, drifting things, bobbing along as they fluttered towards the ground. So small, so tiny. It was amazing to think that they could pile up to such heights. Mana sighed deeply, her breath coming out in a rush of steam.

“You know, Yami?” she said. “I used to really hate winter. Even when I had been here for a while, I....I hated it. So cold, and bare, and dead...so not like home.”

She dropped her chin to her chest, not looking at him. Yami no Yugi glanced at her. Everything was so quiet. He suddenly felt like he wanted to stand closer to her...but felt like maybe he wasn't allowed to. She started talking again, pausing his thoughts.

“But then I met you in the winter,” Mana said, lifting her head. “And I don't think I hate snow anymore.”

The flakes drifted down between them. She turned towards him, her dark emerald eyes looking a deep chocolate brown in the light. He couldn't look away from her.

“I...you know, I'm not a big fan of winter either,” Yami no Yugi said. “I never liked the cold. It just...felt wrong.”

Mana didn't drop her eyes from him.

“But when I came here, I was...I was nervous, I guess. It's so different than what I'm used to, so far out of my comfort zone...and I met you, and...and you were so friendly. So welcoming.”

He dropped his eyes, and then lifted them to the dark sky and the snowflakes drifting from it.

“I didn't like snow either,” he said. “But when I see it...I think about you, now.”

He felt Mana draw closer to him, felt her hand reaching out and sliding into his. Without even thinking about it, he gripped it back. 

_ “Is it fair to give her happiness and then snatch it away?” _

_ “The spirit doesn't belong to this world anymore.” _

His fingers loosened. He almost dropped her hand.

And then he tightened his grip. He didn't care. He knew it wouldn't last, it couldn't, but he didn't care. Just because something had to end didn't mean that it wasn't worth it. He was going to enjoy the moment, the moment that he had with her right now.

It felt familiar. In fact, everything felt so incredibly familiar. Even the mounds of snow glistening in the dark, although, perhaps they seemed the wrong color.

“I don't hate winter anymore because I think about you,” Mana said. “Thank you, Yami...”

Yami no Yugi smiled.

“No...thank you,” he said.

This felt right. It felt warm. She leaned against his shoulder, and he leaned back against her.

He was so wrapped up in the silence, in her warmth, in the rightness of the moment, that he did not notice the air dropping steadily in temperature around them.

_ “Don't you think it's getting colder out?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> viscaria = will you dance with me?


	7. Demon's Marigold

It was blisteringly cold this morning. There was no snow and the sky was clear, but the wind ripped through the town like an angry dragon. Yami no Yugi shuddered.

“Can't we stay inside today?” he muttered into his scarf.

“And miss seeing Kisara at her first day on the job? I don't think so!” Dawn said, bopping him on the head. “Where's your sense of courage?”

“I left it in bed with all of my warmth.”

Mana half-snorted, half-chuckled, pressed her mouth into her mitten to still her giggles. He hadn't thought it was that funny, but her cheer warmed him up a little, and he smiled.

“Well as long as it's warm in the flower shop,” he said.

“It'd have to be, there are flowers there!” Dawn said. “Here we are!”

They stopped in front of Dominic's family's flower shop.

“Where's Cadence?” Mana asked, glancing up and down the street.

“Probably sleeping in, come on, we can meet her inside, it's  _ cold _ !” Dawn said.

“Where's  _ your _ sense of courage?” Yami no Yugi asked, grinning.

Dawn bopped him on the head again and scurried indoors. Yami no Yugi laughed and followed.

Warm air rushed out in a burst, chimes jingling somewhere deep inside the room in response to the door opening. Mana closed it quickly behind them.

It was like stepping from Antarctica into the jungle—there were flowers  _ everywhere. _ The heat was actually quite surprising; Yami no Yugi pulled off his hat and Mana started stuffing her mittens away and unbuttoning her coat.

“Wow! I always forget how warm it is in here,” she said.

Flowers, flowers, flowers, everywhere. There wasn't a surface that wasn't covered in pots, barely a walkway to pass through the rows upon rows of blossoms hanging low. It was like walking through a rainforest.

“Good morning...oh! Hello everyone.”

It was hard to see her past the flowers, but there was an aisle straight to the back with a simple counter and register, and Kisara stood behind it. She had put her hair back into a long ponytail and swept the bangs from her eyes. She almost looked like a different person without that one long bang hanging straight down her forehead. She also wore a green apron over her blouse and dress pants.

“You look sooo cute!” Dawn squealed. “Like a flower princess in a flower kingdom!”

“But I'm not wearing any flowers or anything so how can I...”

“Shush, you are a flower princess in a flower kingdom!”

Kisara gave up arguing, simply shaking her head and smiling as a small blush crept across her face. A door opened up behind the counter and Dominic appeared with an armful of cut flowers.

“Hallo there!” he said, waving. “Doesn't Kisara look great? Flowers make everyone look a billion times prettier—and with Kisara that's just uber amounts of pretty, eh?”

Kisara flushed a bright red and mumbled something that both Dominic and Dawn ignored as they continued to gush over her, Dawn starting to try and put some of the picked flowers in her hair and Kisara ducking away.

Yami no Yugi and Mana exchanged glances, trying to hide their laughs and failing.

“Poor Kisara,” Mana said. “Those two are a handful.”

“I think she's all right,” Yami no Yugi said.

He leaned over to look at a bunch of roses. Dominic's voice faded into white noise of the background as he started showing Kisara how to arrange the cut flowers into bouquets and then tie and wrap them. Mana leaned into Yami no Yugi to make him stumble. He grinned at her and pushed back. She stumbled with a gleeful yelp. She smacked him with one of her mittens.

“Cheater,” he said.

“What? You started it,” Yami no Yugi said.

“You pushed harder.”

Yami no Yugi just smiled wider and nudged her again. He managed to catch her by the wrist before she tumbled into a pot of dahlias, though.

“It's so pretty in here,” Mana said.

“Yeah,” Yami no Yugi said. “The scents are starting to become a bit overpowering, though.”

“I guess there are a lot, huh? Like they're all competing for our attention.”

“Hmm, the scented equivalent to a battle of the bands?”

Mana burst out laughing but clapped her hands over her mouth and just kind of shook for a moment.

“What? It wasn't that funny,” Yami no Yugi said.

“No, but I just imagined a bunch of punk rock guys with all these flowers in their hair screaming at each other,” Mana said in between giggles.

Yami no Yugi wasn't quite certain what punk rock guys would look like, but he imagined they would be something like the gang members he had encountered back in Domino, and that also was a funny image to him so he had to put his head down and try to silence the chuckles.

To distract himself, he looked over the flowers. There were so many, in so many colors and designs—they were gorgeous. Maybe he should buy one to bring back home. Would that be allowed on the plane, though? Perhaps he should stick with some seeds. What kind of plants would be best?

_ “What do you think, Yugi? Should we spruce up the game shop a little?” _ he mused.

_ “Get a packet of pansies, my mom likes those,” _ Yugi said.

Yami no Yugi nodded, wandering towards the wall full of seed packets.

The opening bell chimed somewhere in the door and there was the whooshing sound of wind outside as the door opened.

“Oh, Cadence!” Mana said. “There you are; I was starting to worry.”

Yami no Yugi glanced over his shoulder. Mana had trotted over to greet Cadence, and for once, the girl was smiling. She was actually pretty when she wasn't glaring at him. She looked dead tired, though; the circles under her eyes were deep enough to rival Kaiba when he was on a three day streak of no sleep, and she seemed to drag slightly as she walked into the room.

“Good morning Cadence,” Dawn said in a singsong tone. “Sleep weeell?”

Cadence's smile dissipated. Something seemed to pass between the two girls for a moment, Dawn smiling slightly, Cadence glowering. Yami no Yugi thought he felt a small thrill of cold through his spine.

But it was over in a moment, and Cadence dropped her gaze, turning her attention to Mana, who was trying to show her a really pretty pink lily and wouldn't that look really super nice on your desk to complement the black ebony? 

A few more customers came in. The store felt a bit crowded, but no way was Yami no Yugi heading out into that cold until he absolutely had to. He bent down to examine the seed packets, already holding one for pansies, and was considering the lilies. He heard Kisara interact with the customers, soft-spoken and polite and even a little nervous, and smiled. Even though she had forgotten everything, she was still so in control of her life. He admired that in her, admired the way that she had taken the initiative to find herself something to keep her mind of things so she wouldn't push her memory too hard. Yami no Yugi, well....when he didn't have the world to save, he felt like he was drifting.

A frown had started to form at the thought when Mana appeared like meteor, attacking him with a giant hug and nearly toppling him over.

“Geez, Mana!” he said, a laugh bursting from him and wiping away the sad thoughts.

“Oooh, are you getting some flowers?” Mana said. “Seeds, huh, you're going to grow them? Do you have a garden at home?”

“No, there's no space in the city. I'll probably just grow them in pots...”

“Mine always seem to die—I think I water them too much. I have some water lilies, though, in a big bowl, and I don't have to worry about overwatering those!”

“You wouldn't overwater them if you would just listen to me,” Dominic said from behind the counter. “I told you, just a little drizzle once a day, or whenever the soil feels too dry.”

“I can't tell when it's 'too' dry, it always feels dry to me!” Mana said, pouting.

She hadn't yet taken her arms from around Yami no Yugi's neck, but he didn't mind. The feeling of her leaning against him in a prolonged hug felt somehow nostalgic, and definitely comforting. He didn't want his thoughts to stray back to where they had been before.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He tried to reach for it, but Mana was kind of in the way so he had to shift her off of him with a laugh before fishing it out of his pocket. Anzu's name flashed on the screen. What would she be calling him at this hour for? Wasn't it late at night in Japan?

He shrugged, and flipped it open.

“Hello?” he said, in Japanese.

Mana look curious, and Yami no Yugi mouthed 'friend from back home.' She smiled and nodded.

“ _ Yugi, _ ” Anzu said, sounding frantic. “Or—or which Yugi is this—oh god, I—I guess it doesn't matter, both of you are listening right –”

Instantly, Yami no Yugi tensed, his senses crackled, and every hair stood on edge.

“Anzu, slow down,” he said, trying to sound calm. His mind was racing though, making it hard. What had happened? What was wrong? “What is it? What's wrong?”

Anzu gasped a few times on the other end.

“It's—oh god, Yugi, it's your grandpa, they had to send an ambulance, it was cardiac arrest, he's in the emergency room right now, your mom and Jonouchi and Honda and Ryo are all here—”

The phone slipped in Yami no Yugi's hand. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt Yugi's emotions explode and then withdraw with shock.

Grandpa?

“Yugi? Yugi? Are you still there? Yugi?”

“Yami, what's wrong? Is something wrong?” Mana said, obviously noticing his expression.

Yami no Yugi's mouth was dry; he couldn't speak for a moment.

“Yugi?” Anzu pleaded. “Yugi?”

“I'm—I'm here,” he said.

“Oh god, Yugi, I'm so sorry, I don't know, it looks bad, he hasn't woken up yet...”

Yami no Yugi swallowed, tried to speak around a thick tongue.

“Okay, okay. I'm coming back. I'll be on the first flight back.”

“Yugi, I—I'm so sorry, I –”

“Please, just stay with my grandpa, please. Keep me posted. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay. Okay.”

They both hung up—there was nothing left to say.

“Yami?” Mana said, her voice small. It seemed to echo in Yami no Yugi's brain—he couldn't think straight, couldn't see straight.

“My...my grandpa,” he said. “He had a heart attack.”

Mana gasped.

“Oh, no,” she said. “Is he...is he okay?”

Behind the counter, Kisara's face had gone white, her hand covering her mouth. Dominic had dropped the flowers he was wrapping. Dawn looked stricken.

“I don't know. They say it's bad.”

His head was spinning.

“I'm sorry, Mana, I'm sorry, I have to go back. I have to go back to Japan and make sure that—I mean if this is –”

He could feel Yugi throwing the toys around his soul room, torn between anger and terror. He had to go back to Japan. He had to go back and make sure grandpa was okay. And if he wasn't...if he wasn't he had to be there....in case...

Mana's eyes filled up with tears. She nodded though.

“I get it,” she whispered.

Yami no Yugi felt something in him break.

He had forgotten that this meant he was leaving everyone. He was leaving Mana.

For a moment, his eyes swept the group—Kisara's pale face, Dominic mouthing 'sorries', Dawn staring at nothing as though it were her grandpa that had been sent to the hospital, Mana looking heartbroken with tears in her eyes.

Cadence, momentary shock passing across her eyes, and then being replaced with something else.

She almost looked triumphant.

**. . .**

Darcy drove him to the train station. Mana, Dawn, Kisara, and Dominic all squished into the back seat to see him off. Cadence hadn't been able to come. Yami no Yugi couldn't bring himself to care about Cadence right now. He was so filled with worry, with regret, with fury at fate and terror at what was coming. He was feeling so much he wasn't sure he felt anything at all.

Yugi had locked himself in his soul room and wasn't talking to him. He knew it was nothing he had done, that Yugi was just so terrified about what had happened to his grandpa, but...he missed Yugi's reassuring presence. He wanted his mind mate there, so that they could calm each other down.

Darcy parked. Small snowflakes were starting to drift from the sky.

“Snowy winter,” he muttered.

He pushed out of the car. Dawn flipped her door open and popped out, turning around to help Kisara out next. Dominic crawled out after them, but neither Mana nor Yami no Yugi moved for a moment. Yami no Yugi was the one to stand up first. He hesitated, then opened Mana's door.

She stared at her knees, her thick bangs covering her eyes.

“Mana?” Yami no Yugi said softly.

She didn't look up. She did, however, slid out of the card and into the snow. She walked past him without a word. Yami no Yugi watched her walk, then closed her door behind her. He tramped through the snow onto the station.

“The train's leaving soon,” Darcy said. “You'll be there in time for the night flight.”

“Thank you,” Yami no Yugi said. “You've been very kind to me. I'm sorry the trip had to be cut short.”

Darcy smiled, his aqua blue eyes clear as the sky above.

“You were a privilege to host, Yami,” he said. “You're always welcome the next time you come to visit.”

He held out his hand, and Yami no Yugi shook it, smiling his thanks. Dawn leapt towards him next.

“You! Cell phone! Number! Now!” she said.

Without waiting for him to answer, she pulled his phone from his breast pocket and starting dialing in her number. He let her do it. He couldn't really bring himself to argue with or play along with her cheer.

“Get mine in there too,” Dominic said.

“Going, going, going,” Dawn said. “Don't lean, Dominic, I'm doing it already!”

While Dawn and Dominic messed with Yugi's phone, Kisara drew closer to him.

“I'm sorry about your grandpa,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said.

She hesitated, looking down at her feet.

“I...Yami. I want to thank you,” she said.

“What for?”

“Well...you encouraged me. I was scared...I still am, about who I am and where I came from, but...thank you. I think I may be able to remember some day soon, and I know that I can keep walking forward because of you.”

Yami no Yugi gave her a real smile.

“You're welcome, then,” he said. “I'll still keep looking for that person you're waiting for.”

She smiled.

“Thank you,” she said again.

There was the sound of a bell. The train was leaving soon.

“There!” Dawn said, throwing the phone back at him. “I expect messages! I will be sending you lots of them so I hope you have a good texting plan!”

Yami no Yugi almost laughed, but his heart was a little too heavy for that.

“Thank you,” he said. “I'll miss you. All of you. And—and I'll try to come back to see you soon. For Christmas, I hope.”

Perhaps Kaiba could be persuaded to buy an extra airfare ticket. He had already bought the rest of the group tickets, so if theirs were already booked, he would definitely come along.

“Promise?” Dawn said.

“Promise,” Yami no Yugi said.

He stepped back. He glanced at Mana, who still hadn't spoken or looked at him. Then, suddenly, she burst forward, throwing her arms around him. He stumbled back a few feet, then stood there awkwardly with his arms pinned to his sides and her face in his chest.

“Mana...” he said.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I was being so selfish...of course you have to go back and see you grandpa. But I wanted you to stay. I know you can't be here forever but...oh, I'm so sorry for being selfish!”

“Mana, it's okay...I'm—I'm a little selfish too. I wanted to stay too.”

She sniffled loudly, and stepped back from him.

“Gimme your phone, I need to put my number on it,” she said, eyes already red with tears.

He handed it over, and she gave him hers. He programmed Yugi's number into it, and then they switched phones again.

“I'll miss you,” she said.

“Me too,” he said.

He hesitated a moment longer. Then, on the spur of the moment, he pulled out his deck, and selected a card.

“Here,” he said, handing it to her. “Hold onto this for me.”

Mana's eyes widened as she stared at the Dark Magician Girl card in his hand.

“But this is...”

“You like this card, right? It's a pretty important part of my deck so...so if you have it, I'll have to come back, right? I'll need it back, though, so don't steal it!”

He tried to keep his tone light-hearted, but it was so, so hard. Mana stared at the card for a minute longer. The train made another noise indicating that it was about to leave. He pushed it at her and she scrambled to catch it.

“I'll be back! Soon! I promise!” Yami no Yugi shouted over his shoulder, running for the train. “I promise!”

He leapt onto the train moments before the doors closer. He hurried down the aisle and jumped into one of the seats, staring out the window at his friends waving, Dawn with both hands as she jumped up and down, Dominic saluting, Kisara with a dainty little wave and her hair blowing in the wind.

Mana, running alongside the train as it started to move, waving the Dark Magician Girl card in the air and shouting after him, although he couldn't hear with the windows closed. He could read her lips though  _ “you promised! You have to, now! You promised!” _

He smiled at her although there were tears bubbling in his eyes. This was just temporary, he reminded himself. Temporary. He would be back for Christmas break.

And then Mana was out of sight, the train picking up speed. Yami no Yugi sank back into his chair. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting just a few of the tears roll quietly down his cheeks. He felt like he had done something horribly, horribly wrong.

It wasn't long before he drifted off to his half-sleep in his soul room and Yugi took back control.

A single thought occurred to him just before he fell into his unconscious state.

_ Wasn't this train a steam train with compartments the last time I was on it? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> marigold = grief


	8. ~interlude~ Last Purple Hyacinth

Anzu rolled her phone around in her hands as they rested on her knees. She hated the feeling of hospital waiting rooms. There was something about the artificial lighting in them that felt even more dead than normal artificial lights. She heard the soft coughing of a man somewhere behind her, and a child crying quietly because “their tummy hurt real bad” while their mother rocked them and made soft shushing noises.

She heard the doors open and looked up. As soon as she caught a glimpse of Yugi's distinctive silhouette she jumped up from her seat and half ran across the lobby.

He didn't protest against her hug, but she could tell this probably wasn't the time, and cut it short.

“How is he?” Yugi asked, looking up at her with his childish purple eyes.

“He's stable and awake,” Anzu said. “They kicked me out because I'm not family...”

She glanced up at Yugi's mother, Naoko, who had arrived along with Yugi. Naoko smiled and squeezed Anzu's hand, but she looked so, so tired.

“Thank you for staying, Anzu-chan,” she said. “You've been so supportive through all of this. You're welcome to head home, now, you've been staying around since yesterday....”

“It's fine, Mutou-san,” she said. “I'd like to be here, if you need me...”

She glanced at Yugi hesitantly. Relief had broken over his face when she said she would stay, and that more than anything brought a warmth to her chest. There was no way she was leaving her friend during this.

“Can we go see him?” Yugi asked.

“I think so,” Anzu said. “He's going to be okay, Yugi. He's going to be okay.”

Yugi smiled. It was tight and hesitant, though, and she clutched her phone a little harder.

“I'll wait down here,” she said. “Jonouchi, Honda, and Bakura just went down to the vending machines. They'll be here too, if you need us.”

Yugi's shoulders seemed to relax.

“Thank you, Anzu,” he said.

Then he followed his mother to the reception desk, and then down the hall towards his grandpa's room. Anzu sighed, feeling her own shoulders slumped. She was so tired. It had been almost a day and a half since Grandpa Mutou had had his heart attack. Luckily, it seemed that he was going to pull through, without any extra complications. The doctors were amazed at his bounce-back, especially since this was no less than the third time he had been admitted to the hospital for heart problems. Well, of course, one of those times had been due to his soul being removed from his body, but the doctors didn't know that.

Anzu didn't feel like sitting down, but standing made her want to pace. She knew that Mutou-jii was going to be okay, but still, she felt anxious. She hoped Yugi was doing all right. He and the other Yugi had seemed so terrified when she had called them—not that she had been very calm herself. She had to work on her bedside manner a little bit. Still, it had been...terrifying. She had been there in the room when he had just collapsed. And with Yugi out of the country, it had been even worse.

She shook her head to clear it. Luckily for her spinning thoughts, the three boys returned from the vending machines at that moment.

“Hey, Anzu,” Jonouchi said, handing her the coffee she had asked for. It felt nice and warm in her hand, and she was grateful for the sensation. “Yugi get here yet?”

“Yes, he just went to see jii-san with his mother,” she said. “I don't know how long they'll be up there, but I told Yugi we'd be waiting for him.”

Jonouchi nodded approvingly, plopping down onto the couch and cracking open his own coffee.

“How was Yugi?” Honda asked.

“Shaken, but I think he's okay,” Anzu said. “I don't know about the other Yugi. I didn't get a chance to talk to him...”

“Well, Yugi's mother was around, of course,” Ryo said, shrugging. “I don't think she knows yet...does she?”

“I don't think even Grandpa officially knows,” Honda said. “Although I wouldn't be surprised if he's guessed by now. He's a sharp guy.”

Anzu nodded vaguely. Jonouchi sighed.

“This sucks,” he said. “Yugi was havin' such a good time with his fancy-ass class, too.”

“Yeah,” Honda said.

They were quiet for a moment.

“Well, we still have our own tickets, right?” Ryo said. “I'm sure we can scrap one up for Yugi, as well. We can still go down and spend Christmas in England, like we had planned. He won't get to finish his class, but...it's something, right?”

“Right,” Anzu said, smiling slightly. “I was really looking forward to meeting everyone. They all sounded like so much fun.”

“Yeah, maybe you were excited,” Jonouchi groaned. “Cause you can actually speak English. I'm gonna make a total fool of myself.”

“You don't need any help with that, Jonouchi,” Honda said.

Jonouchi kicked Honda in the shin. Honda flipped him off, but he was grinning. Anzu smiled a little herself. Their cheer was infectious. Sometimes it was good to have the dorks around, she thought teasingly.

“Right,” she said. “So we'll still get to go to England. It'll be fun.”

“Uh-huh,” Ryo said.

For just a second, Anzu thought she heard a strange edge to Ryo's voice. But, looking at him, nothing seemed off. He was just sipping at his drink. Normal.

She couldn't shake a feeling of unease, though....

**. . .**

It was dark by the time they left the hospital. Yugi had only returned downstairs to thank them all for being there for him and apologize for not being about to really greet them. He promised to meet them all at the game shop later, and then went back up to see his grandpa.

Ryo let out a small sigh of relief as he walked down the cold street, breath twirling into the air. He snuggled further into his scarf. Grandpa Mutou was going to be completely fine. It was a miracle, really. He was barely suffering at all. The doctors were amazed at his heartiness. Ryo had always known that nothing would keep that man down for long. It was looking like, despite the scare, the winter break was going to be a good one after all. He was really looking forward to visiting England. He had always wanted to go. Ever since...

He carefully edged his thoughts away from that territory. No point in dwelling on the past, on the things that he had promised to do with his sister. He was not going to let himself get depressed right now. Things were going well. He was happy right now. He was okay.

And then the buzzing started.

He panicked right then. He dropped the phone that he had been fiddling with and nearly dropped to his knees. His hands clapped over his ears as though that would stop the static-like buzzing that was growing through his head—but he knew better.

“No, no, no, I won't let you –”

But it was no use. His ill-timed panic attack left his mind vulnerable and off balance. He was helpless as  _ the other one _ slid smoothly into the forefront of his brain, almost gently pushing Ryo himself back into a metaphysical room and closing the door.

“I'm sorry,” was the last thing Ryo was able to whisper before he blacked out.

Yami no Bakura smiled softly. Ah, that was better. That had actually worked much better than he had planned—Ryo had been increasingly good at fighting him off lately. Perhaps the regular doses of pain had been enough to start causing him to have panic attacks at the mere thought of him. That was good. Very good. It was so much easier to take control of a mind that was panicking.

He retrieved Ryo's fallen phone and flipped it open. He had to remove the gloves in order to work the blasted thing. He hated modern technology. He finally managed to open up the menu he was looking for and started scrolling through the pictures that Ryo had received as text messages. There was one in particular that he had noticed vaguely some time ago, but only now was he starting to become more interested in it. Ah, there it was.

The photo on the small screen looked innocent enough. A squished group of friends in what appeared to be one of those cheesy photo booths set up at dances. There was the pharaoh, in the center there, looking far too happy. It was the pharaoh in this picture, not the puny little vessel, as was evident in the red eyes. There were a few people that Yami no Bakura did not recognize: a young man with auburn hair, a girl with black hair in a braid and a slightly sour expression.

But his lip started to curl into a slight smile as his eyes ran down the platinum white hair of the girl in the corner, the upturned blond do and bright green eyes of the girl that clung to the white-haired girl's arm...and most especially the dark-skinned girl with the dark brown hair and the huge laugh, her small fingers entwined tightly at the bottom of the photo with the pharaoh's....

“How precious,” he said softly. “You found her, pharaoh. After all these thousands of years.”

His smiled grew, glinting in the darkness like a predator.

“Oh, I will enjoy your face when you find her body with my knife in her chest...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> purple hyacinth = sorry, please forgive me


	9. ~interlude~ White Heather Town

He wandered through corridors in his sleep. Sometimes he wondered if these dreams were belonging to his other self, and Yugi himself was simply watching. He didn't know how to bring it up to his other self, though, because sometimes the dreams were truly horrifying, and if they weren't belonging to his other self, he didn't want to worry him.

Yugi wandered through the pitch black hallways, fingers running against the cold stone of the walls to keep himself oriented. Despite the darkness, though, he felt like he could see all around him. He could feel the maze stretch out around him, had an instinctive sense of which were dead ends and which were not. Most nights, the dream just stayed like this. It was actually a bit relaxing. There was no end to the maze, he was sure, but it felt like a puzzle, something that only he could solve. Something that made some strange sort of sense to him.

His fingers brushed from stone to cold metal. In the faraway way that brains were during dreams, he felt his heart sink. He only found doors when the dream was about to become a nightmare.

Almost idly, without really thinking about it, he opened the door and stepped out into perfect blackness.

The image of the maze twisting in his mind disappeared. It was like he had just fallen, and his stomach dropped even though he hadn't moved.

That was when the screaming started.

He clapped his hands over his ears, but his hands weren't real because it was a dream, and he could not shut out the sound. The scream cut through him. It swelled all around him—it was a girl's voice, screaming, screaming, screaming –

The darkness and the scream instantly fell away. Heat blasted his face. He was blinded momentarily by the flash of bright light reflected off desert sand. But then the desert was gone too, and he was once more sitting in blackness. But this time he could see his own hand, at least, and there was something sitting in his palm. He turned it over in his palm and some nonexistent light shimmered across the light, holographic surface of the Dark Magician Girl card.

A pair of voices seemed to rise out of the card, as though it were a cell phone on speaker.

“It didn't make a difference.”

“You knew it wouldn't.”

“Things are already in motion. You knew that you couldn't stop it from the beginning.”

“....”

“Separating them has only made it  _ worse. _ ”

“It won't last. If he doesn't come back, things will settle down again. She'll move on. Her emotions will settle.”

“It's not going to be like that and you know it.”

“Just because you're—what you are—doesn't mean that you know that for sure!”

“But I do know! I know better than anyone else in the Universes that Are and Can Be how she feels!  If she doesn't get the closure she came for, you know what will happen to her!”

“No, no, no. It won't happen. I won't  _ let _ it happen.”

A pause. The other voice spoke again, softer this time.”

“...Look. I know how you feel. But...she can't live like this forever. You've known that since the beginning.”

“....It doesn't mean I have to accept it.”

The card fizzled out of his hand.

The darkness started to break up with a slight fizzling. He swallowed, coming up out of sleep. His mouth felt dry. The light was too bright....and his cheek hurt.

He woke up fully. He was sitting in a hard-edged hospital chair, his elbow on the armrest and his cheek pressed against his fist. Groaning, he lifted himself off his hand and leaned back on the chair instead. The artificial hospital lighting was horrid.

The other him was still sleeping. Yugi could feel his soul drifting. He wondered again if they shared dreams. For some reason, he felt like they didn't, that, at least, that dream had been his alone. Did the other him even dream?

“Ah! And I was just about to wake you up!”

Yugi startled fully alert. In the hospital bed in front of him, Grandpa Mutou was grinning at him.

“Jii-chan!”

Yugi leaped out of his chair and practically threw himself on his grandfather, hugging him tightly.

“Oof!” Grandpa Mutou said. “Careful, there, I'm not quite one hundred percent!”

He laughed as he said it, though, and hugged his grandson back just as tightly.

“You're okay, you're okay, you're okay,” Yugi said, squeezing him.

“Of course I'm okay! It'll take more than a little old bit of heart failure to take me out, my boy. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with me for quite a few more years before I kick the bucket!”

“I  _ want _ to be stuck with you, thanks,” Yugi said.

He pulled away.

“You really scared me,” Yugi said.

“I know, I know. Mostly my own fault, you know. Felt it coming on for a while, put it down to heartburn. Should have gone to the doctor sooner. I am sorry I made you drop your trip. I know how important it was to you.”

“Oh, no, no, don't be sorry!” Yugi said. “I got most of it done, at least. I'll still get the credits. And you're more important.”

His grandpa smiled. He ruffled Yugi's hair.

“You're a very smart boy, you know? You remind me so much of your father. Self-driven, and smart, I mean. You definitely got your level-headedness from your mother.”

Yugi laughed softly and leaned into his grandpa's hand, just glad that his grandpa was here to have this conversation with him.

“Well, even though it was cut short, how did you enjoy your first trip overseas?” Grandpa Mutou said.

“Oh, it was great!” Yugi said. “I learned so much. And everyone was so friendly. I really loved the town, too. It was cold and snowy, but it was nice and quiet.”

“Ah, yes, those little towns are the best, aren't they?” Grandpa Mutou said, leaning his head back against the pillow. “Anyone can go see London or Paris, but you've got to get off the beaten track sometimes.”

“We—I had a lot of fun with everyone,” Yugi said, quickly fixing his statement. Grandpa didn't know about the other him yet...

He thought he saw his grandpa's lips flicker slightly towards a smile, but the older man didn't say anything.

“I was hoping that I could go with everyone at the end of the week to visit everyone there for Christmas,” Yugi said. “Anzu, Jonouchi, and everyone already have tickets to go because they were planning on visiting.”

“Then you definitely should go with them! You're young, you need to go experience the world!” Grandpa said with a laugh. “Don't worry about me. I'm going to be just fine, you'll see. Tell me more about these friends that you made in England.”

Yugi smiled, grateful. He hadn't brought up the possibility of him going back to England to his mother yet, but if Grandpa was okay with it, his mother was sure to say yes—even if she did pretend to consider it for long, drawn out minutes.

“Well, there's Dominic-san, he lives with his parents at a flower shop,” Yugi said. “Oh! I actually brought some seeds back with me, so we can grow some in our flower boxes.”

Grandpa smiled, and let Yugi continue.

“Then there's Kisara-san. She has amnesia, and she's working at the flower shop while she stays with Darcy, my host father. He's a doctor, and he's taking care of her while the police try to figure out where she came from. Dawn is Darcy's daughter. She's really loud and exuberant, and there's Cadence. I don't think she really liked me much...”

“Can't win them all, can you?” Grandpa said.

“Guess not,” Yugi admitted. “And then there's Mana. Other—I mean, I got along really well with her. I'm teaching her to play Duel Monsters.”

Grandpa smiled broadly.

“They sound like a good group of kids. Glad to hear you're making friends so easily.”

Yugi blushed slightly. It  _ was _ nice, the more he thought about it. Even though his other self had been in control for most of the time, he still felt like he was friends with all of them. He couldn't wait to see them all again—except, well, maybe not Cadence.

“It's a really great town,” Yugi said. “I feel like just about anything can happen in it.”

“The little towns are the ones that have a lot of the magic flitting around, aren't they?” Grandpa said. “Sure, there some in a city like this, but there's fewer places for the magic to hide in a small town. You enjoy it, when you go back, you hear? Enjoy every last minute of it.”

Yugi smiled. He thought to all the faces of his friends here, his friends in England, to the image of his other self on the train station giving Mana the Dark Magician Girl card for safe-keeping. His other self had tried to hide it, but Yugi knew how disappointed he was to not be with Mana now. He couldn't wait to see them reuniting again—it put a warm feeling in his stomach.

“I will,” he said. “I definitely will.”

The strangeness of his dream had completely faded away by then.

**. . .**

He was dreaming.

That was odd. He couldn't remember ever having dreamed before.

There was a flicker to the scenery. It should have been disorienting, but seeing as it was a dream, he didn't seem to think anything of it.

One moment, he was standing in a vast desert, no sign of human life anywhere. Just golden sand dunes against the blue horizon. But by the time he would take his next breath, he would be standing in a field of snow in place of sand dunes. Still, there was no hint of humanity. Just silver snow against a gray sky. Desert. Snow. Desert. Snow.

“Do you think we can meet again?”

A girl stood before him. He could not see her face. In the desert, she wore a short canvas-colored tunic, glittering with hard golden bangles and trim. In the snow, she wore a long purple coat and black mittens, all soft things and round edges. 

“Of course we can meet again,” he found himself saying.

But she couldn't hear him, he realized. She was standing with her side facing him, blurred face turned towards the sky. A single tear rolled down her cheek as the scene faded from desert to winter and back again.

“Promise me, that someday, we can meet again. In a place like this. Promise me. If you can hear me, please, let me know that you can. If you can hear me—please. Promise to meet me again.”

“I can hear you,” he said. “And I promise. I promise I'll meet you again. No matter what it takes. In a place just like this.”

But she couldn't hear him. And with a dry sob, she dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. He stepped forward. He tried to reach for her, to touch his fingers against her shoulder, to do something—he had promised!—

But then the dream was over, and he was drifting back into wakefulness.

Yami no Yugi found himself sitting in his soul room, on one of the many sets of steps. He was shocked to find tears at the corners of his eyes.

Slowly, he laid his face to rest in his hands.

Maybe he had been better off not dreaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> white heather = wishes will come true


	10. A Mysterious Acacia

The train came to a stop with a soft screeching sound, jerking the passengers forward just slightly with the change in momentum.

“No, no, no, it's pronounced  _ how are you _ ,” Anzu said. “Say it with me again.  _ How are you? _ ”

“ _ How are you? _ ” Jonouchi and Honda both stumbled.

Yami no Yugi smiled from the back of Yugi's head, listening to his friends practicing the English words. He stood up as the train started to settle and people started to file into the aisles down towards the doors.

“Well, you're getting the hang of it, at least,” Anzu said, standing up too. “It's pretty nice to see you two actually working hard at something for once!”

“Well, you make it make more sense than our teacher does,” Jonouchi said. “Thanks for the extra help, Anzu, Bakura.”

Anzu blushed a little at the comment, and Ryo smiled and inclined his head slightly.

“You really did make a lot of progress, you two. You'll get the hang of it through using it, it's the best way,” Ryo said. “And don't be too worried about making mistakes, all right?”

“Heh,” said a darkly bemused voice from behind their seats. “If the deadbeat doesn't make a fool out of himself in less than five minutes, I'll be surprised.”

“You pickin' a fight with me, Kaiba?” Jonouchi snapped, whipping around.

Seto just smirked at him and muttered something in French as he stalked past them.

“That wasn't very nice,” Ryo said, frowning.

“Just forget about him, man,” Honda said, holding Jonouchi's shoulder tightly before the blonde boy launched himself after Kaiba's disappearing frame. “He's really not worth it.”

“What'd he say, Bakura? What'd he say? Just because I don't speak a million languages doesn't make me dumber than you!!”

“Why did he even come with us?” Yugi wondered aloud. “It's not like he enjoys hanging out with us or anything...”

Anzu shook her head.

“Mokuba forced him into it,” she said. “Something about making him take a holiday vacation; although why he came here instead of the billion other places he could afford to go makes no sense to me. He'll be a joy to have around, don't you think?”

“Just wait, I'll pop him one if he gets too irritable,: Jonouchi said, punching his fist.

“Please don't do that,” Yugi said.

They moved through the train and out towards the platform.

“So we're going to be staying at a little motel a short drive away from here,” Anzu said, looking at a pamphlet. “And –”

_ “Yami!” _

Yugi snapped back into the Puzzle just in time for Yami no Yugi to take on the full force of Mana's tackle hug.

“Gah!”

They both went tumbling down into the snow.

“You're back! You're back! You're back!” Mana squealed. “Oh! Right!”

She popped back up off of him and fished around in her pocket.

“Here!” she said, thrusting the Dark Magician Girl card at him. “You came back! So I don't need to hold this over you anymore!”

“Could you maybe let me get up before you give it back?” Yami no Yugi said, laughing.

“Oh! Right!”

Her tan skin darkened to a brown with her blush, and she hopped back to her feet, extending a hand to help him up. Grinning, he took her hand and got back up. Then he took the Dark Magician Girl back and slipped it into his deck box.

“Wow!” Jonouchi said, grinning widely. “That was quite the greeting. You're a smooth one, Yami.”

He winked as he used Yami no Yugi's fake name, and Yami no Yugi felt a slight blush growing on his cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Hey!” Jonouchi said to Mana, his English actually sounding pretty good. “I'm Jonouchi Katsuya. So you're Mana, huh? We've heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, I hope they were good things,” Mana said, giggling. “I've heard a lot about you all, too! I'm so excited to finally meet you!”

“We've all been pretty excited, too,” Anzu said. “I'm Mazaki Anzu. And this is Honda Hiroto, and Bakura Ryo.”

“I'm super pleased to meet all of you!” Mana said. “I'm Mana Raful. I can't wait to spend Christmas getting to know everyone!”

“Oh, right,” Jonouchi said. “And that sourpuss over there trying to avoid us is Kaiba Seto. Oi! Kaiba! Ya gonna join us or are ya gonna spend the whole time pretending ya don't know us?”

“Probably the latter,” Seto said dryly, although he had remained standing close enough to be paying attention to the goings on.

“Is everyone else here?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“Oh, yeah! They went into the station to get some coffee. Oh! Here they come now!”

She waved with both arms at the four teens headed out of the station. Dawn waved excitedly back with both of her arms too. Cadence had to quickly grab her arm before she lost the lid on her coffee and sent it flying everywhere.

“Yami!” Dawn said.

She threw her arms around his neck for a tight hug and then bounced back.

“Ah!” she said. “These must be your friends!”

Yami no Yugi repeated introductions for each of his friends, who each nodded or said hello in return.

“I'm Dawn Marisa Grey!” Dawn said, still bouncing on her heels. “I hope we can all be friends!”

“I'm Dominic McGuire, and this is Kisara,” Dominic said, pulling the shy Kisara over. “I hope the same!”

“Oh, and this is Cadence! Cadence Mulloy,” Dawn said, grabbing Cadence's arm and hugging it.

Cadence had a sour expression to rival Seto's. Her gray eyes flicked to Yami no Yugi, and there was actual rage reflected there for a second before she looked away again. Yami no Yugi felt his smile slip slightly.

But he couldn't help but smile when Mana gave him another tackle hug that almost sent them to the ground again.

“This is great! This is going to be so much fun!!” she said. “What do you guys want to do first?”

“They probably have to check into their motel,” Cadence said, a slight frostiness to her tone.

“Ah! You're right!” Anzu said, checking her watch. “Do you know how far the motel is?”

“Oh, it's actually just a ten minute walk from here,” Mana said. “And from there its easy to walk into town!”

“Yeah, we can go Cherry Bites from there,” Dawn said.

“What's that? A cafe?” Ryo asked.

“It's the best one in town,” Dominic said.

“Okay, we'll go to the motel first, then,” Anzu said, nodding. “And the cafe sounds nice.”

“Awesome!” Mana said. “This is going to be so much fun!”

The group got itself together and started off from the platform. There were a few bumps and jostles and squeaks of sorrys as they figured out what kind of spacing they were going to need with a group this big.

“Oh, sorry,” Kisara mumbled as she accidentally bumped into Seto's shoulder.

He just kind of glanced at her and made a noncommittal grunt. Yami no Yugi frowned. He was about to tell Seto to be a little more gentle with her considering her position, and then he saw something quite odd.

Seto Kaiba did a double take.

His blue eyes passed over Kisara's face a second and third time. His mouth half opened. Then he closed it, turned around, and walked away with the rest of the group with his hands shoved in the pockets of his long black winter coat.

Kisara didn't move for a second. Her mouth was half opened, too, as though she had been about to say something but nothing had come out. One hand hovered halfway up as though about to reach for something, and her deep blue eyes stared at nothing.

Yami no Yugi paused, most of the group already ahead of them.

“Kisara?” he said softly.

She snapped out of her daze.

“Oh,” she said. “Sorry. I spaced out.”

“Are you...”

“I'm fine! Sorry! I've been doing that a lot more lately—anyway, let's catch up!”

She hurried past him. Her face was a bright red.

Yami no Yugi hesitated a moment longer, watching her run to catch up, watching the back of Seto's head.

What had...he just seen?

**. . .**

The walk from the motel to the cafe was almost spent in awkward silence.

Almost, except Dawn was in the group.

“Hi, Anzu-san!” she said, bouncing over to her. “I heard from Yami that you like to dance! Have you ever tried ballroom before?”

“Oh, no, I haven't,” Anzu said. “I've always wanted to try, though. It looks really beautiful.”

“It's a lot of fun!” Mana said, jumping in. “I've been doing it with Dawn and Dominic and Cadence for about a year now.”

“Oh, wow,” Anzu said, smiling with interest.

“You should come to one of our club meetings while you're here,” Dawn said.

“That would be great!” Anzu said.

“What kinds of dancing do you do?” Mana asked.

“Mostly hip-hop...I've tried my hand at copying some moves from Broadway productions I watch online.”

“Ooooh!” Mana said, brightening. “Have you ever seen Footloose? It's the only thing I've ever seen on stage!”

Anzu's whole face lit up.

“That's my favorite!” she said. “I've watched it online five or six times—I keep hoping it will come to the opera house in town someday.”

They continued to chatter excitedly about shows and dancing as Dawn hopped back to the middle of the group where most of the boys were walking.

“Hey, so Dom, how's your collection going?” she said.

“Which one?” Dominic said immediately.

_ How many does he have...? _ Yami no Yugi thought.

“The one with the little toy motorcycles.”

“They're  _ not _ toys! They are accurate scale replicas of motorcycle models,” Dominic said, sounding offended.

“You collect motorcycle replicas?” Honda said. “Which companies?”

Dominic looked surprised at the interest.

“Oh, I haven't been collecting for long, but I have some Günthermann, Lehmann...”

Honda smiled widely.

“I've been trying to complete a collection of Günthermann models for ages! What's your favorite model?”

“Oh, well it would have to be...”

Smiling mischievously, Dawn bounced backwards again and found herself in between Kisara and Ryo.

“Hi, Bakura-san!” she said. “So, I've heard from Yami-san that you like playing Monster World and stuff. What else do you like to do?”

“Oh? Well, besides Monster World...I do read quite a bit.”

Kisara perked up.

“What do you like to read?” she asked shyly.

“A variety of things,” Ryo said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just finished one about the occult...”

He looked a little bit embarrassed about it, but Kisara picked up on that quickly.

“I've spent a lot of time at the library lately,” she said. “I read a book about hauntings yesterday—it was really fascinating!”

“Oh, you like that kind of thing?” Ryo said, looking surprised. “I mean, you're not freaked out?”

“It's cool,” she said. “I like ghosts. I wish I could meet one.”

Ryo blinked. Then he smiled.

“Oh, well have you read any by...”

Dawn grinned again and hopped over to where Yami no Yugi was walking.

“You're kind of incredible,” Yami no Yugi said. “How do you do that?”

Dawn winked at him and patted the deck box attached to his belt.

“I've spent enough time around you all to know what you're into, and what you'd share with everyone,” she said, grinning. “Excuse me while I turn Dom and Honda's conversation to something that Jonouchi gets involved in.”

“What about Kaiba and Cadence?”

“They can just be sourpusses together.”

She danced off to drop some leads into Dominic and Honda's conversation that turned their talk to shoe brands, which Jonouchi eagerly joined in on. Yami no Yugi tried to smother his smile, but it was hard.

Everyone was really getting along. This was great.

Or so he thought until Cadence suddenly appeared beside him, her black dress swooshing around her feet. His smile faded.

“What?” he said.

“Why did you come back?” she said under her breath.

“Because I'm friends with Mana,” Yami no Yugi said. “And I promised her.”

Cadence almost looked resigned.

“Let's make one thing clear,” she said. “I wish you had never come here. I wish Mana had never known that you existed.”

Yami no Yugi's lips pressed together.

“But it's too late now,” Cadence said, and her dark eyes were strained.

She turned to look him right in the eyes.

“And I hope you're willing to face the consequences of meeting her.”

She stalked ahead of him. Yami no Yugi picked up the pace to catch up with her.

“What do you mean, the consequences?” he said. “Cadence, if there is something wrong here, I want to know.”

“There's no point in telling you,” Cadence said.

“ _ Cadence _ –”

Cadence snapped towards him. Her eyes were so full of fury that he almost took a step back.

“I hate you,” she muttered. “I hate you. Why did it have to be you? Why? Why did you even have to come here? You're ruining  _ everything _ .”

“If I knew what this 'everything' was –”

“It wouldn't make a difference if you did,” she said venomously.

“What did I do to deserve your hatred?”

Cadence glared at him.

“You exist.”

They had reached the cafe.

“Yu—Yami?” Anzu said, glancing over at them. “Is something wrong?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly to see the glares that Yami no Yugi and Cadence were exchanging. Yami no Yugi broke off the gaze.

“It's nothing,” he said. “Don't mind us, Anzu.”

She didn't look convinced, but left off. She did give Cadence a suspicious glance as they poured into the cafe.

Kiera, Mana's foster sister, was working here again. She grinned, although her eyes widened at everyone piling in.

“Wow! Big crowd for me today!” she said. “What can I get for all of you?”

Anzu fell into her role of helping Jonouchi and Honda translate the menu, while the others went up, made their orders and headed for a back corner.

Yami no Yugi followed Dominic to the back where they started shifting some tables around to make enough room for everyone. There was no one else in the cafe, so they didn't tone down their chatter or laughter at all.

“Oooh, yeah! I did see  _ Chicago _ . That was amazing!”

“Lucky! I wanted to go, but I didn't have enough money for a ticket and then they ran out!”

“So yeah, I'm thinking about getting a Kawasaki, but I dunno about the gears...”

“I've always liked Sherco trial bikes myself...”

“You don't watch any baseball?? Come on, man, baseball is the best...”

“Not a chance, football is so much better.”

“I haven't read anything of Hemingway's yet...or at least, I don't think I have...”

“I personally don't recommend him, to be honest; I prefer Fitzgerald...”

Chatter continued as everyone pushed around the table. Yami no Yugi ended up sitting across from Mana, with an irritable Seto to his left. Yami no Yugi wondered how he had even ended up joining them here—he had seemed to be making to go elsewhere. Anzu's wicked grin in their direction told Yami no Yugi that she was the one to blame for Seto's forced participation in the group. He wondered how she had managed to drag him here, and if Mokuba had asked her do it. He shook his head, smiling as he sipped at his hot cocoa.

“Budge up a bit, there, would you, Yami?” Dominic said, squeezing into the seat on his other side with a plate of food. He turned his attention back to Honda and Jonouchi, who were getting into the seats across. “So wait, you two blokes have never been to a football game before? What is wrong with you?”

“You're the one who's never been to a baseball game,” Jonouchi said. “So what is this again, Anzu?”

“It's just fried fish and potatoes,” Anzu said, breaking off in the middle of her conversation with Dawn about musicals. “You'll like it, trust me.”

“And you've never had fish and chips before?” Dominic said, sounding horrified. “Blimey, we're going to have to get you two straightened out.”

“Oi, I'll bet you've never had really good curry before, so there,” Jonouchi said. “Huh, this  _ is _ pretty good!”

Mana leaned over the table towards Yami no Yugi.

“Dom's pretty happy to have some guys in the group for once,” she said.

“I can tell,” Yami no Yugi said. “What are you eating?”

“I got a strawberry tart—what did you get?”

“I'm trying one of those mini pies,” he said. “I think it's raspberry.”

“Oh, sounds yummy!”

“Want to try a bite?”

“Sure!”

He broke off a piece and handed it to her. She closed her eyes, making a delighted humming sound.

“Oh, it is good!” she said. “I love raspberries. Wanna try a bite of mine?”

Without waiting for an answer, she broke off a piece of her tart and put it in his hand. He grinned and tried it. It was delicious—not that he had thought it would be any different.

“This is so much fun!” Mana said. “I've never been in a group this big—there's so much energy!”

“There certainly is,” Yami no Yugi said. “I wonder if we'll be sick of each other by the end of it?”

“No way!”

She glanced over at Anzu as the topic of cooking was brought up, and was drawn into a conversation about pastry baking, although she insisted that she was a terrible cook and burned everything she made.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Seto said.

Yami no Yugi sent him a sidelong glance.

“And you seem to not be enjoying yourself.”

Seto grunted. He had only a mug of coffee, and he hadn't put anything in it. No wonder he looked so sour—Yami no Yugi hated black coffee.

“You know, there's a thing called socializing,” Yami no Yugi said. “You might want to give it a try.”

Seto grunted again.

“What's the point of that? There's nothing to be gained from something as pointless as this.”

“With an attitude like that, you'll never have any fun at all.”

Seto glowered at him. He took a sip of his coffee.

“I've never seen you out for so long before,” he said. “The back Yugi. I thought you only came out when things were stressful, or when you were playing a game.”

Yami no Yugi shrugged.

“I can come out whenever I want to, and whenever Yugi wants to switch.”

Seto snorted softly, and Yami no Yugi was reminded that Seto seemed to think that both Yami no Yugi and Yugi were simply faces of a disassociative personality disorder. This man. Yami no Yugi didn't know what to do with him—he could smack him in the face with a unicorn and he would still refuse to believe in the supernatural.

“Mokuba wanted you to go on this so that you could relax,” Yami no Yugi pointed out.

Seto's lips pressed together, and Yami no Yugi thought he knew what he was thinking.  _ If Mokuba wanted me to relax, he wouldn't have forced me to go out with the geek squad. _

“Umm...excuse me?”

The boys glanced up. Kisara was looking across at Seto, across the table and a seat down from him.

“Sorry,” she said quietly. “But the salt shaker...could you pass it to me?”

Seto blinked at her for a minute. Then he took the shaker and slid it down to her. Kisara mumbled a thank you before adding the salt to her dish. She took a small bite. Then she glanced up at Seto and swallowed again.

“Umm...” she said.

“What?” Seto snapped. “Spit it out.”

Kisara flushed.

“I was just...wondering...if you liked to read too...” she said. “I saw you looking over here...when Bakura and I were talking...so...”

Seto stared at her for so long that Yami no Yugi felt like slapping him.

“They're called words,” he hissed at Seto. “Use them.”

Seto shot Yami no Yugi a furious glare. But he wiped that away before he looked at Kisara again.

“I guess,” he said, shrugging. “Don't have much time to read, though.”

“Oh.”

Kisara looked a little disappointed that the conversation wasn't going anywhere.

“Um, so what  _ do _ you do with your time?”

“He's a workaholic!” Jonouchi shouted across the table.

“Shut up, deadbeat!” Seto snapped back.

Jonouchi stuck his tongue out at Seto and turned back to his own conversation. Seto glowered at the side of Jonouchi's head for a moment before he glanced back at Kisara. She ducked her head a bit.

“So...you work? Where?”

Seto seemed to hesitate.

“Kaiba Corporation,” he muttered. “I'm the CEO. That's all I have time for. Until my brother sends me on forced vacations.”

Kisara looked up with surprise.

“You run a company? But you're...you're not older than me, are you...?”

“Well, how old are you?”

She blinked. Then she looked down at her lap, brow furrowing.

“I'm....seventeen?”

“You mean you don't know?”

“Kisara has amnesia,” Dawn piped up. “We're trying to figure out where she came from—until then, she's hanging out with us!”

Kisara flushed a deep red.

“You didn't...have to tell him....”

But Seto blinked, and seemed to...soften? Just a tiny bit? Yami no Yugi wasn't sure.

“...I'm seventeen,” he said, as though the revelation of her amnesia had never happened. “Same as you. Yeah, I already run a company. No, it's not that much fun.”

Kisara looked up from under her bangs, still blushing a bit. But she was smiling—gratefully, perhaps? That he hadn't made a big deal of her amnesia?

Yami no Yugi smiled to himself.

_ “So he can be a nice guy after all,” _ Yugi said.

_ “Seems so,” _ Yami no Yugi said.

Mana leaned over the table again, cupping a hand around her mouth to whisper.

“Someone has a crush on Kaiba,” she whispered.

Yami no Yugi blinked and leaned towards her.

“What? Who?”

“Oh, you silly! Kisara of course! Look at how shy she is!”

“She's always shy...besides, they've only just met. How can she have a crush on him already?”

Mana sighed dramatically.

“Boys would never understand,” she said.

And then she, too flushed a deeper tan, and popped quickly into Jonouchi, Honda, and Dominic's conversation.

Confused, Yami no Yugi sat back in his chair and returned to finishing his pie. It was then that he realized that he had to use the bathroom. He excused himself and pushed away from the table, picking his way around their messy collection of tables and chairs and people so he could get to the back of the restaurant. Keira grinned at him as he passed.

“You guys are a rowdy bunch,” she said. “You're lucky there aren't any other customers.”

“Sorry about that,” Yami no Yugi said.

She just laughed and waved him off. Smiling slightly, he hurried on his way to the bathroom.

As he was walking out, he heard a foot squeaking in the girl's bathroom.

_ “Here to give me another lecture?” _

_ “You went overboard last night, and even you know it! You know that's not the way to deal with them!” _

_ “How do you  _ want _ me to deal with them? Shower them with flowers and send them on their merry way?” _

That sounded like Cadence and Dawn. What were they talking about?

Yami no Yugi shifted on his feet, uncertain of whether he should be eavesdropping like this.

_ “You almost killed her.” _

_ “She's fine.” _

_ “No, you don't get it. The way you treat those things is the way you treat them. That's why we have to  _ purify _ , not  _ destroy _!” _

_ “I know what I'm doing, Dawn!” _

_ “I don't think you do! If you had gone any farther last night, Kisara would be dead!” _

Yami no Yugi sucked in a breath.

What?

_ “Purifying the things only lets them come back—do you want other people to get hurt? None of them asked to be in the middle of this.” _

_ “And you are perfectly aware of what happens when you destroy them!” _

_ “We have different approaches. You don't know anything for sure.” _

_ “I know things better than you do.” _

_ “Stop it! You don't understand! I'm not letting her go, do you understand me? I'm not letting her go—” _

_ SLAP! _

Yami no Yugi flinched at the sound.

_ “...that's not your decision to make.” _

Yami no Yugi took a half step forward—did he need to intervene? What was going on between those two?

_ CRASH! _

The sound of a chair crashing to the floor drew his attention with a snap to the front of the room.

“You—you don't know anything, Seto Kaiba! You don't know  _ anything _ !”

Yami no Yugi was only halfway to the front of the restaurant before he saw Kisara whipping towards the door and fleeing out into the cold without her coat.

“Kisara!”

“Kisara!”

“The hell did you do to her, Kaiba?”

“What happened?”

“Kisara, wait!”

Yami no Yugi rushed the rest of the way to the group. He could hear the footsteps of Dawn and Cadence across the tile floor behind him.

“What's going on? What happened?”

“She ran without her coat!” Mana said, gathering up Kisara's big blue coat. “It's getting dark out there! She'll freeze!”

“Mana, Mana, calm down,” Yami no Yugi said, putting his hands on her shoulders. She was trembling so badly that she was going to fall apart, and her eyes were wide. “What happened? Why did Kisara run away?”

“I missed most of it,” Anzu admitted. “But Kaiba started arguing with her as we were cleaning up and getting ready to go once you all got back....”

“Seriously, what the hell did you say to her, Kaiba?” Jonouchi said, eyes narrow.

“What kind of guy makes a girl cry like that?” Honda said.

“Shut up! Both of you!” Kaiba snapped. “I didn't do a damn thing; she just— _ forget it _ !”

He snatched up his coat and stormed out into the dark.

“Oi! Get back here, you lousy piece of –” Jonouchi said, starting after him.

“Jonouchi, please, calm down, we need to figure out what happened,” Yami no Yugi said.

Jonouchi's jaw tightened, but he stopped. He folded his arms tightly, looking a bit flushed.

“Okay,” Yami no Yugi said. “Obviously...maybe Kisara needs a few minutes. I'm sure she'll be back for her coat. She knows where we are.”

Mana looked on the verge of tears.

“Everything was going so well,” she mumbled. “Everything was going so well.”

“It's not your fault, Mana,” Yami no Yugi said, squeezing her shoulders. “Sometimes things...just snowball.”

He glanced around the ground.

“Well...did  _ anyone _ hear what happened between them?”

Ryo looked up, hesitant.

“I missed most of it, but...I think they got on the topic of a book she had read recently, a fantasy...? Anyway, I think somehow they started talking about the supernatural, and it was making Seto irritated...and then I didn't see what happened, but Kisara was trying to give Seto something he dropped while we were getting up and getting ready to go? And then I don't know, he snapped at her, and Kisara was running away.”

That didn't clear things up much at all, but perhaps it didn't really matter. Yami no Yugi heaved a sigh.

“Okay. Let's just...wait for a few minutes. She'll probably come back, right?”

Everyone mumbled some yeses and uh-huhs.

“Don't worry,” Yami no Yugi whispered to Mana. “It will work out.”

Mana swallowed. She kept hugging Kisara's coat, and leaned into Yami no Yugi's chest.

“I hope so,” she muttered.

**. . .**

The time stretched on. Twenty minutes. Thirty minutes. An hour.

“It's full dark,” Dawn said, looking worried.

“Enough waiting,” Jonouchi said. “We need to go make sure she's okay.”

Even Cadence nodded.

“Okay!” Dawn said, taking charge. “Everybody from Domino City, please team up with someone from Risgate who knows the area. We'll spread out.”

“There's an uneven number,” Yami no Yugi said.

“We can make a group of three...”

“No need,” Yami no Yugi said. “I think I know the place well enough. It's better with more groups, right? I'll go by myself.”

Dawn nodded.

“If you're okay with it.”

He nodded.

It was cold tonight. And the snow was starting to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> acacia = concealed love


	11. The Runaway and the Dragon's Jonquil

Yami no Yugi's pocket buzzed with another text. A cursory glance at it told him that they still hadn't found Kisara.

He had found himself walking down a street with few streetlamps, plunging large spaces of the sidewalk into darkness between pools of light.

_ Kisara...where did you go? _

What exactly had happened? He wished Seto had stuck around long enough to explain. Not that he would have been willing to...damn. This wasn't turning out how he had hoped.

_ Brring.....brring... _

What was that? Bells? He glanced up. Where did that sound come from...?

His eyes scanned the darkness around him. Hm?

In the light of a streetlamp, he could see flowers. Small white bloom in star shapes, with a lightly yellowed center, bobbing in the breeze. Flowers? In the middle of winter? The petals glimmered with hints of frost, but they didn't show any signs of withering. A surreal feeling fell over him, like the feelings he got when he could see Yugi dreaming from his soul room.

He crossed the sidewalk to the flowers.

But as he approached...they faded from sight.

“What the...”

_ “Other me, look!” _

Yami no Yugi looked up. He was standing in front of a small park. The ground was coated with about a half foot of snow, but ruts had been dug through it by the footprints of small children. It was a sparse little thing, just a slide, a small jungle gym, and a swing set...

Oh!

Kisara was sitting on one of the swings.

“Kisara!”

She glanced up. Even in the low light, he could see the glitter of the tears in her eyes. Upon locking eyes with him, her face seemed to fall slightly, and she dropped her head again. Her bangs fell heavily over her eyes like a veil.

Yami no Yugi hesitated for a moment. There was a strange feeling in the air, like there was some vague scent surrounding him that he couldn't quite place or even capture.

_ “Should we text the others?” _ Yugi asked.

_ “I...I think I'm going to talk to her first.” _

Yugi's sense of approval was the only motivation Yami no Yugi needed to move forward. His footsteps crunched across the snow, following the packed down trails of past children's feet to the swingset.

“Kisara?” he asked quietly.

She did not answer. She moved slightly back and forth on the swing, her legs twitching slightly. After a beat, with his breath twirling into air, he crunched forward again and sat down in the swing next to her. The chain felt cold, even through his gloves.

“Kisara?” he said again. “Everyone's worried about you.”

Again, silence. Her platinum-blue-white hair glimmered like silver in the faint light of the streetlight, making it look like the holographic front of a Duel Monsters card. As she swung ever so slightly, another glimmering light caught his attention—this one not only  _ like _ a Duel Monsters card, but identical to it...

Kisara was holding the Blue Eyes White Dragon in her lap.

Yami no Yugi sucked in a breath.

“Kisara...where did you...”

She seemed to come out of a dream. Her fingers tightened on the edge of the card.

“He dropped it,” she whispered. “It fell out of his pocket somehow...I caught it before it touched the floor...”

Her bangs shifted slightly, so that he could see her deep blue eyes, staring down at the card.

“You know...I've never seen this before,” she whispered. “But I know it. Like I know my heartbeat.”

“Kisara...”

She sniffled softly through a choked nose. Yami no Yugi swallowed.

“What happened?” he asked quietly. “Why did you shout at Seto?”

Kisara's face dipped forward again, the bangs sliding over her eyes and sending glimmers of light around her head. The soft creak, creak of the swings and the faint buzz of the streetlamp were the only noises. Not even a bird or animal made a noise, not a breeze wove its way through the park.

“He didn't want to talk to me, you know,” she said. “I tried to start a conversation. But he just kept shrugging, and snorting, and rolling his eyes. I got...mad. Why was he here, if he obviously didn't want to be here? And he couldn't really give me an answer....”

She swallowed. Her head came up and she pushed the hair away from her eyes. The cold bit at Yami no Yugi's cheeks and nose, but he felt too focused on the moment to really pay attention to it.

“I don't know why, but it made me so....upset...” she whispered. “I asked him why he was so angry all the time. Why he didn't want to be around you guys, people that considered him a friend, that he obviously didn't feel the same way towards. He seemed so angry, and it made me want to cry....but I don't know  _ why... _ ”

She sniffled again, and her shoulders hunched up. Yami no Yugi reached out tentatively. He gripped her shoulder, feeling the tremble even through his gloves and the weight of her coat.

“Kisara, it's okay,” he said. “You don't have to tell me what happened.”

“No, no, I want to. I have to say these things, or they'll be bottled up inside forever,” she said, sounding almost desperate. “When he dropped the card, I saved it, and he got so mad, and he wanted it back, like he didn't want me to touch it and then I—I got—I lost it. Yami, I just, I just lost it. I was so mad that he could have so many feelings for this stupid piece of paper and none for the people around him. I just want—I want him to—I want him to smile so _ badly. _ Why do I want that? Why do I want him to be happy? I don't know him! But I look at him and I just want him to not be lonely and not be angry and to smile and be happy and have friends around him and be  _ safe _ ....”

She couldn't hold in her tears anymore. With a wrenching sob, she doubled over and pressed her face into her knees. Yami no Yugi jumped up from the swing and knelt down next to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

“Why? Why? Why?” she sobbed. “I want him to be happy because of the people around him! I don't want him to be so—so attached to this little piece of paper! Seto....Seto Kaiba...I want him—to—smile....why won't he smile?”

Yami no Yugi had absolutely no idea what to do or say. How could he comfort her? He didn't know how to make things better—if anyone could make her feel better, it would have to be Kaiba, and the day that Seto Kaiba comforted someone would be the day that hell froze over.

Of course, it was Yugi who popped back in.

“Kisara-san, it's going to be okay,” he said. “I know...it's really frustrating, isn't it? You care about Kaiba-kun, and you want him to be happy. It's really hard...when people you care about...aren't happy, isn't it...?”

Kisara sobbed again. She sat up and threw her arms around Yugi, crying into his shoulder. Yugi hugged her tightly back.

“And it's confusing, right?” he said. “Because you just met him, and you feel so strongly about him...but it's going to be okay. I promise that. I know Kaiba-kun's not the easiest person to be around, but I think...I think someday you'll be able to see him smile. It just takes time.”

Yami no Yugi watched silently from the back of Yugi's mind.

_ His kindness is so powerful, _ he thought.  _ That's...going to make him surpass me...someday.... _

After a while, Kisara's sobs started to die down. Her trembling subsided. Yugi kept hugging her for about a minute.

“Do you feel better?”

“...yes.”

“Crying can help a lot, can't it?”

“Mm-hm.”

Kisara sat back, crunching against the snow. She rubbed furiously at her eyes with her free hand, the other hand still keeping a tight hold on the Blue Eyes White Dragon.

“I wish I had picked somewhere less cold to do it, though,” she mumbled. “My face is freezing.”

“Your hands look cold too,” Yugi said. “Want to borrow my gloves?”

He didn't really give her a chance to refuse, already pulling them off. After a moment of looking like she was going to protest, she gave in and accepted the gloves. Yugi held on to the card while she pulled the gloves on, and then he handed it back to her. She stared down at its shiny, holographic surface for a long time.

“I know this creature,” she murmured. “But I wonder...from where...”

Yugi squeezed her shoulder.

“Let's go find Kaiba-kun,” he said. “I think...he'll be wanting his card back.”

Kisara swallowed. She wiped at her eyes again. Then she tried to smile.

“You're right,” she said.

She hesitated.

“Thank you....Yugi....”

Yugi just smiled. Yami no Yugi smiled from the back of his head, as well. His partner was good at this. Better than Yami no Yugi would ever be.

They were halfway down the darkened street before it occurred to both soulmates.

_ She said  _ Yugi.

**. . .**

It was a shock to find Kaiba standing outside of Dawn's house. Yami no Yugi had sent out a blanket text that probably would have gone to Kaiba as well, but the fact that he had found his way here and was actually  _ waiting  _ was a surprising fact. He was even here before the others had arrived.

Kisara shied back slightly, almost hiding behind Yami no Yugi.

“Kaiba,” Yami no Yugi said.

Kaiba's lips pressed together slightly. He gave Yami no Yugi the barest of glances before looking at Kisara.

“Stop looking at me like I'm going to bite you,” he said, but there wasn't really any snap to his words. “I'm just here to get my card back.”

Yami no Yugi glanced back at Kisara. She was staring at the ground. After a beat, she glanced up through her bangs. She looked down again. Then, hesitantly, she stepped out from around Yami no Yugi and walked over to meet Kaiba. She held out the card.

“I'm sorry I ran away with it,” she said, her voice slightly choked and quiet. “I forgot I was holding it.”

Kaiba accepted the card, but it was a gentle motion, without snatching it. He stared down at it for a minute. Then he sighed, stowing it back in a deep pocket.

“Not your fault,”he said gruffly. “I shouldn't have...”

But whatever he had considered saying, it trailed off into nothing. He snorted softly.

“Never mind. Good night.”

He shook his head and turned around, starting to crunch away through the snow.

“K-Kaiba!” Kisara said suddenly, stepping forward.

He paused. He didn't turn around, though. Kisara hesitated, clasping her hands in front of her and looking down at the snow covered ground.

“Um...I...do you think we...can try again? Do you think that maybe...even tomorrow...we can start over....?”

Seto didn't quite turn around, but Yami no Yugi saw him slightly turn his head. Then he shrugged.

“Fine. That's if I end up coming out in this godforsaken cold tomorrow.”

The words seemed sharp, but the tone did not. Yami no Yugi saw a bit of light come over Kisara's face. Seto seemed to hesitate for a moment longer, as though he were about to turn around, to look over his shoulder at her again. Then he shook his head, breathed out a swirl of steam, and crunched away into the darkness.

For a brief moment, Kisara and Yami no Yugi stood alone.

“Kisara!”

Dawn burst down the street, throwing her arms around Kisara's shoulders.

“Oh my gosh! I was so, so, so, so, so worried! Are you okay? Are you hurt? You must be so cold! We gotta get some hot chocolate into you!”

“I'm fine,” Kisara mumbled into Dawn's shoulder. “I'm sorry....”

“Oh good, you did find her!” Mana said, running over to the group. “Is everything okay? What happened anyway?”

“It's okay if Kisara-san doesn't want to talk about it,” Anzu said, also making her way over with the boys right behind her.

“I think...I'd better just go sleep,” Kisara said. “I'm sorry for worrying everyone...”

“It's okay, we're just glad you're okay,” Dawn said, squeezing her tighter.

Then she bounced back from Kisara, still holding her shoulders, and looked her up and down as though searching for injuries. She pushed some of Kisara's bangs out of her face before looking over at the rest of the group.

“Thanks so much, everyone, for helping us look,” she said.

“I'm sorry I ruined everyone's day,” Kisara mumbled.

“Don't apologize,” Jonouchi said. “Ain't really your fault either, right? It's Kaiba's. And don't worry, we all know that that guy can ruin _ anyone's _ day.”

Kisara laughed slightly, but it sounded a bit choked.

“We'll make up for the day tomorrow,” Mana said, patting her on the shoulder. “For now, you should get some rest!”

“Okay,” Kisara whispered.

Everyone said their goodbyes and slowly started to pull away. Dominic insisted on walking Mana back home, and Anzu started to lead the way back to the motel while Dawn bustled off into her house with Kisara.

“See you in the morning,” Yami no Yugi said to Mana.

“Yeah, good night! Sleep well!” Mana said waving cheerily.

He smiled. It was good to see her grinning again.

As he turned to follow Anzu and the others back towards the motel, he hesitated. He caught sight of something just in his peripherals—white blossoms, like the ones he had seen before, bobbing gently in a breezeless evening. But when he turned to look at them, they weren't there—had he imagined them?

Standing there in the light of the streetlamp instead was Cadence.

For what felt like an incredibly long moment, they simply stared at each other from across the distance. He could not read her eyes, whether that was because of the odd lighting or because of her trying to hide her feelings, he was not sure.

But he thought he saw something like sadness there.

Then she closed her eyes, shook her head, and stepped out of the light, fading away into the darkness.

**. . .**

The day dawned bright and clear, not a single cloud to mar the expanse of blue. It was a bit warmer than the day before, too. Perhaps it was a sign that things would be looking up after the events of last night—Yami no Yugi certainly hoped so. It was definitely a nice change to have the sun shining, and he closed his eyes to enjoy it for a brief moment as he walked.

Kisara was working at the flower shop with Dominic this morning, so the Domino group was headed out to meet the Risgate group at the store. Anzu was incredibly excited to see it.

“It sounds gorgeous from what you were telling me,” Anzu said as they walked. “With all the cold and snow I've wanted to see flowers so badly, but all of the shops near my house have terrible selection and everything is already cut. Do they sell flowers in pots there?”

“Yeah; most of their flowers are still growing, actually,” Yami no Yugi said. “Dominic is always talking about how the fresher they are the better. He's very proud of the shop.”

Anzu brightened. She hummed a little to themselves.

“Geez,” Jonouchi said. “What is it about girls and flowers?”

“I don't know, I kinda like flowers,” Honda said. “Maybe I should bring some home...”

Jonouchi glanced over at his friend suspiciously.

“I know that look in your eyes. Who're you planning on giving those flowers too, huh?”

“Oh, no one. I just like flowers. By the way, Jonouchi, what's Shizuka's favorite kind of flower?”

“Ah-ha! I knew it! You're trying to make a move on my sister again! I oughta bash your head in!”

Honda ducked under Jonouchi's half-swing, laughing. Jonouchi grinned devilishly at him and the pair began to chase each other in circles around Yami no Yugi and Anzu.

“Geez, boys,” Anzu said, rolling her eyes.

Yami no Yugi felt Yugi shifting nervously at the back of his mind. Before Yugi could keep the thought to himself, Yami no Yugi caught the edge of it, and he smiled mischievously.

“By the way, Anzu, what's your favorite flower?”

_ “No, don't ask her, please don't, other me!” _ Yugi said, the spiritual projection of him blushing furiously.

“My favorite?” Anzu said. She paused, considering. “Hmm...well...I've always liked tulips. Oh, but white violets are nice too...and I don't know if you've ever seen them before, but acacia blossoms are so cute! They're like small yellow puffballs.. They don't sell those in flower shops, though, because they grow on trees in Australia.”

“They sound really nice,” Yami no Yugi said.

But in his head he was grinning at Yugi.

_ “There you go, partner,” _ he said.  _ “She likes tulips and violets.” _

_ “Stop teasing me,” _ Yugi said, still blushing.

Yami no Yugi just smiled wider. It was about time Yugi started being honest with himself about his feelings.

Whispers and giggles caught his attention up ahead. Just a few feet ahead of them at the flower shop, Dawn and Mana were peering in through the window, having carefully positioned themselves behind the window display so that they could look in without being seen. Cadence stood behind them with her arms folded, looking torn between annoyance and amusement.

“What's going on?” Yami no Yugi said as they approached.

The two girls jumped a bit. They looked up, grinning—they looked so alike in that moment that they really seriously could have been twins.

“Look, look!” Mana said, waving them over to crouch behind the window. “You'll never guess who's in there already!”

Curious, Yami no Yugi glanced into the shop. His mouth dropped open slightly.

Seto was leaning against the counter inside the flower shop. He looked vaguely disgruntled, but it wasn't his usual sour expression—almost as though he were only making a show of it. Kisara stood on the other side of the counter. She was shaking her head and her mouth was moving as though they were in the middle of a debate. Seto shrugged at her and started to respond.

“No way! What's he doin' in a flower shop?” Jonouchi said, looking mystified. “No way somebody like him is interested in flowers.”

“I don't know!” Dawn said gleefully. “I don't even know how he knew she worked here!”

“How long has he been here?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“He was already here when we got over,” Mana said, eyes bright. “Look, look, she looks really happy!”

Looking back up through the window, Yami no Yugi saw that Kisara had laughed at something, one hand going up to her mouth. Seto rolled his eyes, but there was actually a half-smile on his lips.

“This is kind of surreal,” Honda said.

“You're telling me,” said Jonouchi.

Anzu rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on. You'd think you all thought Kaiba was a robot,” she said. “Geez. So he actually made a human connection. Big deal; it was only a matter of time. Now let's stop ogling them like they're a zoo exhibit and go inside; I'm cold.”

And with that, she turned on her heel and marched in through the doors, making the entry bells chime softly.

Yami no Yugi, who had started to smile at Anzu's practicality, froze.

That sound. That bell-sound.

That had been what he had heard last night when he found Kisara.

_ “Other me?” _ Yugi asked.

Yami no Yugi shook his head. It was just a coincidence. Just his imagination. Besides, why would he have heard the sound of the flower shop on the other side of town? He closed his eyes for a minute—maybe he needed to rest more. Imagining flowers and bell-sounds...there was no point in bringing the dream-world to the real world.

Jonouchi and Honda had already followed Anzu inside, Jonouchi looking a little too excited about interrupting Kaiba. Dawn bounced over to the door, practically dragging Cadence with her. That left Yami no Yugi and Mana right at the door.

“This is great,” she said, grinning up at Yami no Yugi. “I'm glad that Kisara and Kaiba have made up.”

“Me too,” Yami no Yugi said. “It seems like they're getting along...which is honestly astounding.”

Mana giggled a bit.

“Well, Kisara's really nice, so I don't see how Kaiba could be too mean to her,” she said.

She looked in through the glass door, watching Dominic greet Anzu and Kaiba's head snap up with shock as Jonouchi and Honda called over to him. Instantly he started scowling, and Kisara put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. She waved at the two boys and Jonouchi started talking, although through the glass door, it was impossible to tell what he was saying—he was probably teasing Kaiba judging by the deepening scowl on Kaiba's face. Dominic was showing Anzu some flowers down another aisle while Kisara looked like she was trying to distract Jonouchi and Honda with the shop's merchandise, even as it looked as though she were trying really hard not to laugh. It looked so peaceful in there.

“You know...” Mana said. “It's almost like they already knew each other, or something.”

“Hm?”

“Oh, Kaiba and Kisara. It just seems like...they fit together, you know?”

She paused. Then her cheeks deepened in color.

“Aw, I sound silly. Never mind. That only happens in romance novels....soul mates and things. Don't mind me.”

“No, it's fine,” Yami no Yugi said. “I...I kind of like the idea myself.”

Then he realized what he was saying and blushed.

“I mean, about Kisara and Kaiba. They do seem to fit together very well. I agree with you.”

“Oh yeah, I thought that was what you meant,” Mana said, also blushing. “Um...it's cold, let's go in, okay?”

“Good idea,” Yami no Yugi said.

They pushed inside, the sound of the bell sending a shiver down Yami no Yugi's spine. He made a note to ignore it, and closed the door behind them.

“Oooh, these weren't here yesterday!” Mana said, looking in awe at a display of lilies.

“Brought them out of the greenhouse this morning,” Dominic said. “Good morning, you two.”

“Good morning,” Yami no Yugi said.

“Ah, Yugi! What do you think of these?” Anzu said.

She was pointing to a pot of bright red tulips.

“They're beautiful,” Yami no Yugi said.

Anzu nodded thoughtfully, considering the flowers.

“Yeah, I'm not sure...either these or the violets...? I need something in my room to cheer me up when it's so cold outside....”

“Well, take your time,” Dominic said. “There's no hurry!”

Anzu nodded again and started to push gently on the violet blossoms to check how healthy each flower was. Mana had gotten distracted by the lilies, so Yami no Yugi made his way into the shop itself where Jonouchi was still teasing Kaiba, and Kaiba was looking like he was getting ready to punch something—probably Jonouchi's face.

“Hey, Jou, why don't you get something for Shizuka while we're here?” Yami no Yugi said, cutting over Jonouchi. “She likes flowers, right?”

Jonouchi blinked. For a second, he seemed to have lost his train of thought.

“Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Since I won't see her for Christmas. Huh, what's her favorite flower....?”

He pushed away from the counter and started to wander the aisles of flowers.

“You're welcome,” Yami no Yugi said to Seto.

“Shut up, you're not going to be any better,” Seto grumbled at him.

“Thank you, Yami,” Kisara said, very sincere. “I know he's just being silly but...he  _ was _ interrupting our conversation.”

Yami no Yugi smiled.

“No problem. He can go a bit overboard.”

Seto made a sort of grunting sound that seemed to mean 'just a bit?' Yami no Yugi laughed softly.

“I'll leave you two alone, then,” he said. “Since you seem to want that so much, Kaiba.”

“Shut  _ up, _ Yugi.”

Yami no Yugi just grinned at him and moved over towards a shelf of flowers. He examined them only with his mind half on the task. He wasn't interested in buying anything today—although he suspected Yugi was interested in these white violets over here, so he was mostly here for Yugi's sake. Even if Yugi wasn't going to admit that that was what he was looking at.

_ Brring...brring... _

The bells chimed as a new customer came in. Kisara's soft voice called out a good morning and the customer, an old man with graying eyebrows, said good morning back before going to look at the flower wreaths. Yami no Yugi shivered slightly. That bell sound. Why was he so certain he had heard it that night? Why had he thought he had heard anything at all? It was an eerie thought and he tried to ignore it.

Kisara had gone back to her conversation with Kaiba. They certainly were talking well enough. It was surprising that Kaiba was keeping a conversation going this long with someone he had just met. What were they even talking about? Yami no Yugi didn't want to intrude on their privacy, so he tried hard not to listen—but trying  _ not _ to listen only seems to increase the chances of actually listening, so he kept hearing bits and pieces. It sounded like they were just talking about books. Kisara was telling him about a bookstore down the road from the flower shop.

Yami no Yugi had to smile. Kaiba was such a prickly person most of the time; it was quite refreshing to see him getting along with someone so well.

_ Brring, brring. _

His smile faded instantly.  _ Dammit. _ Why couldn't he let it go? It was only a bell...

“Oh! Cadence! You're finally here!”

Scratch that, the bell was definitely the harbinger of doom. As he turned to see Cadence coming through the door, his eyes dropped down an inch.

_ White flowers. _

They were the same ones he had thought he had seen last night—they looked like washed out daffodils with pale yellow centers. He stepped closer to them, half expecting them to disappear as he approached. They did not, however, and he cupped one blossom with his hand, considering it.

“Like those?” Dominic said. 

Yami no Yugi jumped. He hadn't noticed Dominic appear, his head framed by the flowers that sat in between them.

“Oh...yes. I thought I had seen some of these recently. What are they?”

“They're jonquils. From the daffodil family,” Dominic said. “Nice little plants. I prefer straight daffodils myself, though, far cheerier.”

“R-right...”

He stared down at them for a half second longer.

“Dominic, do these happen to mean anything in flower language?”

“You thinking of a specific meaning you want?” Dominic said, looking mischievous. “Got a secret message you'd like to send to someone special?”

Yami no Yugi blushed.

“N-no, that's not it...”

Dominic laughed, reaching over the table to clap Yami no Yugi on the shoulder.

“I'm just joshing you,” he said. “Anyway. Right. Jonquils. They mean 'desire for affection returned' or 'love me.'”

He winked at Yami no Yugi.

“So yes, it's a great flower if you want to send a certain message, if you know what I mean.”

“That is  _ not _ what I'm asking for...” Yami no Yugi said, cursing his easy blush.

Dominic just winked again conspiratorially and strutted off, humming. Yami no Yugi shook his head, still blushing. Geez. Now he had Dominic thinking that....

His eyes wandered up over the tops of the flowers. Mana was on the other side of the shop with Dawn and Anzu. He couldn't hear what they were saying and he could only see their heads what with all the flowers in the way. Mana was saying something with her characteristic large hand movements, pointing to things and closing her eyes when she smiled huge, laughing at something that Dawn said, squeezing Anzu's arm at another comment....

Her laugh was so beautiful.

He blinked out of whatever reverie he had been in, realizing that his fingers were rather tight around the stem of the jonquil. He stared down at the little flower. A small, hesitant smile grew across his face.

All of sudden....

He wanted to give this flower to Mana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jonquil = love me, desire for affection returned


	12. The White Violet of Reminiscence

“Wow! It got colder!”

It certainly had, Yami no Yugi thought, miffed. The sky was still as clear as it had been when they went into the flower shop, but stepping back outside, the wind had picked up and it was as cold as anything he had experienced this trip.

Anzu put a hand on her hat to keep it from flying off.

“Kinda glad I decided not to buy any flowers yet. They might die as soon as we brought them outside!”

Yami no Yugi chuckled.

“They might indeed.”

Kisara's shift wasn't over yet and Seto had shown no signs of leaving. Meanwhile, Yami no Yugi had thought it beneficial to shoo Jonouchi and Honda away. Dominic was done working so he had offered to take them around town. Mana had to run some errands for her family and Dawn was with her, while Ryo had excused himself to check out the bookstore down the road and Cadence was who knows where. So that just left Yami no Yugi and Anzu.

“It really is a pretty town,” Anzu said. “A lot more snow than back home though, huh?”

“Definitely,” Yami no Yugi said.

“Yugi told me that you don't like the snow much,” she teased.

“It's...very cold.”

Anzu laughed a little, and he smiled, shaking his head.

“So, what do you want to do for the next few hours?” he asked. “We're planning on meeting back at the cafe for lunch, but until then...”

“Let's just walk around the square here,” Anzu said. “I want to window shop a bit; I saw some nice antiques in one shop.”

Yami no Yugi nodded. They crunched through the snow, wandering down from the flower shop towards the other buildings.

“There just isn't a lot of small shops like this back home,” she said, leaning down to inspect a china doll that was sitting in one window. “It's mostly electronics and stuff.”

“You're right,” Yami no Yugi said. “Although, we really don't explore much, come to think of it.”

“Yeah, we just go to the arcade, the cafes, and the karaoke bar once in a while.”

Yugi popped in, quickly and easily as they were accustomed to doing around their friends.

“Maybe we should make that our mission this year!” he said. “To try and find a new place every week! That would be fun!”

“Oh, I like that idea!” Anzu said, her eyes brightening. “We definitely should do that.”

Yugi grinned. They moved down to the next shop.

“Oh, I saw this one on the way to school one day,” Yugi said. “It's a thrift store; I saw some ballet dresses in the window once.”

“Oh, really?” Anzu said.

She looked interested.

“Do you want to go inside?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“Only if you two want to...”

“We've had time to see the town,” Yami no Yugi said, smiling. “It's your turn to choose where we go.”

Anzu rubbed the back of her neck, ducking her head slightly.

“Okay, let's check it out then!”

A bell chimed from the back of the shop as they wandered in. The man at the desk glanced up to say a quiet greeting. Anzu returned it with a smile and ducked into the racks. Yami no Yugi nodded politely and the man nodded back before going back to the small black book he was reading.

It was dimly lit inside, the light showing off rays of dust hanging in the air. The walls were a deep, dark brown wood that seemed to absorb a lot of light, but it still held a warm and homey feeling. Racks of clothes were packed tightly together in the middle and all the way to the back of the shop, while neatly organized shelves of trinkets and books lined the rest of the walls. Yami no Yugi wandered to the front desk, which contained a display case of jewelry. Yugi's spiritual projection appeared beside him, studying the necklaces.

_ “Looking for something for Anzu?” _ Yami no Yugi teased.

Yugi blushed and decided not to respond to him.

“Oh, Yugi, what do you think of this one?”

He glanced up to see Anzu holding up a black coat. It was a sort of form-fitting one made of a felt-like material, definitely not meant for getting into too much snow, with four big buttons and some flair at the bottom. She held it up to herself.

“I think it would look nice on you.”

Anzu blushed and smiled.

“Thanks, I think I'm going to try it on.”

She looked back down at the clothes and started rifling through them again.

_ “Partner, if you want to buy Anzu something you should take advantage of the moment that she's in the dressing room,” _ Yami no Yugi said.

_ “Stop teasing me,” _ Yugi mumbled.

Yami no Yugi grinned and looked back at the jewelry. There were really some very nice things here.

_ Would Mana like wearing jewelry? _ He thought vaguely. And then he realizing what he was thinking and he blushed bright red.

“Are you looking for something for anyone in particular?” the man at the desk said softly.

Yami no Yugi glanced up at him with surprise, having forgotten he was there. He was a tall, broad-shoulder man, with a passive face and somewhat eerie hazel eyes that seem nearly yellow in the light, his dark hair cut straight at chin-length. He seemed vaguely familiar for some reason, but the name on his name tag, Cedric Gardner, was not familiar.

“I...I haven't decided yet,” he said.

“Ah,” the man said. “Well, if you decide, then I recommend this one. I think she would like it.”

He tapped the glass just above a very simple looking necklace, just a solid gold choker with a smooth red stone in the middle. If he had to think about it, he did actually like the image of Mana wearing it. It would complement her skin and hair, he thought. And then he blushed again.

“But wait a moment, how do you know...” he started, looking up at the man.

But he had gone back to his book and didn't seem to be paying attention. Yami no Yugi frowned. Had he seen this man somewhere before? He definitely looked familiar...and what had he been talking about? Oh, had he actually been recommending the necklace for Anzu, since he was in the shop with her? But even if he had been, how had he decided that that was something Anzu would like...? As far as Yami no Yugi knew, Anzu never wore necklaces, much less chokers.

“Yugi, I'm going to use the dressing room. I'll be right back!”

Yami no Yugi blinked.

“Oh, right,” he said to Anzu. “Take your time.”

Anzu flashed a smile and ducked into the small room at the back of the shop. Yami no Yugi stared at the necklace for a moment. Then he shrunk back into spiritual form and let Yugi pop back into control.

_ “If you want to get something for Anzu, you should make it quick while she's not looking,” _ he said with a laugh.

_ “O-other me! I don't even know what she would like...” _

Yami no Yugi laughed as Yugi looked flustered and red-faced down at the jewelry. He knelt down to glance at each piece...

“Oh!”

His eyes had fallen on a gold and silver necklace with three strands. They were thin strands with silver links and golden spheres alternating.

_ “They look like those acacia flowers that Anzu says she likes,” _ Yugi said.  _ “But...is she going to like it...?” _

_ “Go for it, partner!” _

Yugi flushed deeper.

“Um...sir? I'd like that one please...”

He pointed at the acacia flower necklace. The man glanced up from his book.

“Ah, a good choice,” he said. “That one is seven pounds.”

“Okay,” Yugi said, pulling out his wallet and rummaging through the unfamiliar bills, trying to remember which ones were which denomination.

Then he seemed to notice Yami no Yugi still glancing at the golden choker.

“Oh, and how much is that one?” he said.

“Eight pounds.”

Yugi counted his money for a moment.

“Okay, I'll get that one too.”

_ “P-partner...” _

_ “You've been teasing me about Anzu! How about you get Mana a Christmas present?” _

_ “I—well, maybe I wanted to get her something else...” _

_ “Hah! You admit you want to get her something! Well, I'm buying that one, and it's up to you whether or not you give it to her. Be honest, you'd probably chicken out if not for me!” _

He finished rummaging through the bills and pushed a ten pound and a five pound bill across the counter. The man tapped out on the register and put the money away, then he unlocked the case from behind and took out the two items, sticking them into a paper bag and handing them to Yugi.

“Thank you for your business,” the man said.

“Thank you,” Yugi said, and hurriedly tucked the bag into his big pockets.

It was not a moment too soon, because the dressing room door opened.

“Hey, Yugi, what do you think?”

Yugi looked up. Anzu was modeling the black coat she had shown off before, and it did look really, really good on her. Yami no Yugi could practically feel the heat of Yugi's blush.

“Y-you look amazing,” Yugi said. “It really suits you!”

Anzu blushed, and did a little twirl to hide it.

“Thank you, Yugi! You're so sweet! Both of you. I need to take you shopping with me more often!”

Yugi ducked his head and blushed slightly.

But then Yami no Yugi could feel a slight hint of sadness in his partner's soul.

_ “Yugi? What's wrong?” _

_ “Oh...nothing...it's just...well...I sort of wonder if she would...rather be with just one of us...” _

And then he withdrew his mind from Yami no Yugi so that he could share his thoughts anymore. But that was all it took. Yami no Yugi almost felt like he had been punched in the gut.

It wasn't...fair, he thought, as Anzu went back into the dressing room and came back out with the coat folded over her arm, chattering about something with Yugi as she paid for the coat. It wasn't fair that he was here. It wasn't fair to Yugi, it wasn't fair to Anzu.

It wasn't fair to anyone that he was here sharing Yugi's body. It wasn't his body. It wasn't his life.

So why was he hijacking it from Yugi?

He withdrew into the puzzle, deep down where Yugi wouldn't be able to find him for a while.

_ I'm sorry, Yugi. _

**. . .**

When they left the shop, Dawn and Mana were just a ways down the sidewalk.

“Ah! Yami! Anzu!” Mana called.

She practically hurtled down the last few feet to them, skidding across the snow to come to a stop in from of the pair.

“Ah, you went into that shop? I love that place! Find anything?”

“Yes! This nice coat,” Anzu said, holding it up.

“Oooh, pretty!” Mana said.

“Ah, I bet black looks good on you, Anzu!” Dawn said.

“Aw, thanks,” Anzu said. “What are you two up to?”

“I finished running my errands, so I thought we'd try to see what everyone else was doing,” Mana said. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Oh, yes, definitely,” Anzu said. “Although I'm starting to get cold!”

“Hey, hey, Anzu, there's a another good thrift store down the street,” said Dawn. “They have a really good selection of skirts and pants and stuff. Wanna check it out? There's still an hour before the time we're meeting everyone for lunch.”

“That sounds great!” Anzu said.

“Yeah –” Mana started.

“And I'm sure Yami's bored of looking at clothes so why don't you and Mana go hang out somewhere?” Dawn said, pushing Yami towards Mana. “You don't mind, do you Mana? I don't want to just ditch him, you know.”

Mana laughed.

“That's okay, I was thinking of going for hot chocolate anyway,” she said. “Wanna come, Yami?”

“Oh, uh, sure,” Yami no Yugi said, not entirely sure what had just happened.

“Great! We'll meet you at the cafe!” Dawn said.

She hooked arms with Anzu and the pair headed down the street, leaving Mana and Yami no Yugi alone.

They stood in a quiet, awkward silence for a moment. Yami no Yugi had only just come back into control when Yugi had retreated suddenly upon leaving the shop. He was sure his partner was still feeling guilty about what he had said—he was like that. He probably thought he had hurt Yami no Yugi by saying something like that, by implying that he was a bit jealous of Anzu's affections for Yami no Yugi. But it wasn't Yugi that should feel guilty...it was Yami no Yugi.

“Hey, you,” Mana said, ducking down so that she could look into Yami no Yugi's face.

He startled up. He hadn't realized he had been looking down at the ground.

“Oh, sorry?” he said.

“What's wrong? Why the long face?” Mana said.

“Oh, it's...nothing. I'm sorry, I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

Mana smiled.

“Oh, that's okay. I space out a lot, too.”

Then her smile dropped a bit.

“But...you know...if you really are feeling sad, you can talk to me, right?”

She clasped her hands behind her back and kicked the snow.

“Because...we're friends, aren't we? And friends can talk about things...”

She trailed off. Come to think of it...this was the first time Yami no Yugi could remember seeing her look so sad. He tried to smile.

“Thank you, Mana. I really appreciate it.”

She smiled tentatively, too. His own smile dropped.

“What about you? Are you okay? You seem...a little less energetic.”

Mana's cheeks deepened in color.

“Oh it's...it's nothing.”

“Mana. What were you just telling me?”

She giggled, but only a bit nervously.

“Oh, okay. I'm not good at following my own advice, I guess!”

She sighed.

“It's Cadence. Dawn and I met up with her in between errands.”

“Oh. What happened?”

“Well....she seemed really mad, and....”

Mana hesitated. She looked off into the middle distance, a mixture of hurt and sadness playing across her face.

“Well, she and Dawn got into an argument. I didn't really understand what it was about. Cadence said something about...there are more of them than ever...and that it was somehow your fault...and when I tried to say something, she just...yelled at me and said that I should stay away from you....”

She seemed to shrink farther and farther in on herself as she spoke. Yami no Yugi stepped closer to her. This was so uncharacteristic of her, this quiet and sadness. It was a bit unnerving, and his heart panged with sympathy pains.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come between you and your friend...”

“No, it's not your fault. Kay has been acting really weird lately, and I don't know why!”

She sniffled, looking close to the verge of tears.

“She's just angry all the time and I don't know what to do...I love Cadence, she's one of my best friends, and I don't know why she's acting this way...”

Her shoulders started to tremble a little. Yami no Yugi took another step forward, his arms half coming up as though to embrace her. But then he stopped.

_ This isn't my body. _

_ This isn't my life. _

_ It isn't fair to Yugi. _

He drew back a little. Mana had been looking at the ground, so she hadn't seen his motion. He felt something in him grow a little hollow.

_ I can't hold her. I can't because these aren't my arms. This isn't mine. _

_ I can't hold her. _

And the thought was for some reason a destructive one, making him feel as though something in him was being rent in two.

Mana sniffled again.

“I'm sorry, I shouldn't go on.”

“No, no, it's fine. I'm your friend, Mana, and I want to hear if you're sad...”

Mana looked up, her eyes shiny with tears, but a smile on her face.

“Thank you, Yami. You've been a really good friend, you know? I almost feel like...like I've known you for a really long time.”

Yami no Yugi hesitated.

“Me....too...” he said. “I feel...like we've done this before, sometimes.”

“Oh, really?” Mana said, brightening. “Wow! I thought I was the only one that felt like that! It's a really weird feeling, huh?”

“It really is,” Yami no Yugi said, smiling in spite of himself. “I'm glad you're smiling again.”

Her cheeks deepened in color.

“Ummm...yeah,” she said, stuttering a bit. “Ummmm...let's, let's walk somewhere!”

And she started to march in a random direction. He laughed softly, and jogged to catch up with her.

“And where are we going?”

“Somewhere!”

Yami no Yugi had to smile. It was nice. She could cheer him up so easily. Eventually, Mana started to slow down a bit, and Yami no Yugi drew even with her. They just walked for a few moments in the cold and snow, not really looking in the shop windows or at the people passing by.

“Thanks for listening to me, Yami,” she said. 

“No problem. What are friends for?”

She smiled, and ducked her head. Again, they walked in silence for a brief moment.

Then, silently, he felt Mana's gloved hand brush against the back of his. It didn't feel like it was an accident, especially when it happened again. For a split second, he turned his hand slightly towards hers, for a moment imagining reaching out and taking it, entwining his fingers with hers and feeling the warmth through her mittens.

_ Not my hand. Not my fingers. _

He jerked away—it was a tiny, subtle motion, but he was almost certain Mana noticed it. Trying to act casual, he slipped his hands into his pockets so he wouldn't be tempted. Mana didn't say anything. He wondered if...if she was mad at him, or upset. Had he upset her? Oh, no, if he had upset her...the thought was suddenly a terrible one in his mind.

Then she looked up at him, and he glanced over to meet her eyes.

“Okay. Your turn,” she said.

“My turn for what?”

“What's making you sad?”

“I'm not really sad...”

“Don't lie to me Yami Mutou! I told you my stuff. It's your turn. You're obviously not yourself.”

He paused in the middle of the sidewalk. Mana stopped, too, standing silently beside him.

How did he explain? How did he begin to tell her what was wrong? How could he tell her the reason why he couldn't hug her when she was feeling sad, why he couldn't hold her hand while they walked? His mind grasped at straws, trying to find the words. He had never had to explain this to anyone. It was just...something that had occurred naturally.

How could he tell her?

“I....Mana....um....” he started.

Mana waited, patient. Quiet, and calm, a strange combination of emotions for her. She felt like the pillar in the middle of a storm—but he felt as though he weren't allowed to reach out to that pillar, much less grab hold of it.

“Mana, I....do you ever...does it ever seem like...maybe sometimes I'm a different person?”

“Huh?” Mana said. “Yami is Yami, right?”

“Well, right, you're right,” Yami no Yugi said, stumbling over his words. “But I mean...does it ever seem like...maybe there's another person there instead of me? Sometimes it's like...you're talking to a different person.”

“Ummm...like a split personality? Do you have one of those?”

“Not...not really...”

He was trying. He was trying so hard to find the words to tell her, in a way that would be understandable. But how could he say it truthfully? Even if she accepted it and believed it, would she be all right with it? He was nothing more than a spirit, a literal ghost possessing a human being, someone who was already long dead. 

He was someone that did not belong to this world.

“I guess...Mana...if I...I mean...if I was...if there were two of me, and I was....I...never mind, I'm sorry. I wish I could put words to it...”

“I wouldn't mind.”

Yami no Yugi blinked.

“...what?”

“I...I wouldn't mind if there was more than one of you,” she said. “I mean, like if there was...if there was another person there. Because no matter what, I met  _ you _ ,Yami. And I really like you...so even if there was another one of you, another mind or something, I would...I would still love  _ you _ . Because you're you. You're your own person even if...”

And then her brain seemed to catch up to what she had said. Her tan skin deepened to a bronze along her cheeks.

“Oh, I mean, I...I mean, I would still...you're still my friend and...oh my, um....I just remembered I have one more errand to take care of I'll meet you back at the cafe for lunch!”

And she turned on her heel and ran off.

“M-Mana!”

But suddenly it seemed like there were a lot more people on the streets, and Mana disappeared behind a few people and Yami no Yugi had to move out of the way of another person. By then, Mana was gone, and he was standing alone on the sidewalk.

Had Mana...

Had she said...

_ “I would still love you.” _

He touched his cheek gently, feeling a warmth there despite the biting cold. Then he stared down at his hand, the one that he hadn't been able to reach out to Mana. He looked up again towards the way Mana had gone.

_ I don't know.... _

_ ….what to think anymore. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> white violet = let's take a chance on happiness


	13. ~interlude~ Cyclamen of the Blue Eyes

_ He looked at me....he really looked at me....and saw me.... _

_ It made me.... _

_...really happy.... _

**. . .**

She just didn't make any sense to him. From the second he saw her, he knew he had seen her before, even though that was impossible. The feeling frustrated him beyond anything else—hunches and feelings that he couldn't explain were near the top of the list of things that he hated.

And the way she had just yelled at him...so  _ angry.  _ He hadn't been able to react as she had torn into him, angry at him because he was being antisocial? Why did she care? They had known about each other for only a few hours. Why did she care if he was an antisocial prick, as she had called him more than once during her rant.

And he hadn't been able to respond. For the first time since he could remember, he didn't have anything to retort. He, Seto Kaiba, had just stood there and let this girl he barely knew yell at him, and then run away with his most treasured possession.

He had stood in the snow in a back alley for almost an hour. Just thinking. Or not thinking. He wasn't sure which.

Nothing felt right. It felt strange. Surreal.

He looked up into the sky and watched his breath disappear.

**. . .**

He found himself at the flower shop early that morning. This was where she was working, wasn't it? He stared down at his phone, at the text still on it telling everyone to meet at the flower shop in the morning.. Anzu hadn't taken him off her group text list, so that meant she was still holding out on the hope that he was going to join them for this stupid vacation. He didn't want to know how she had gotten his number in the first place (he suspected Mokuba).

So here he was.

Was he going to go in?

_ “Um...I...do you think we...can try again? Do you think that maybe...even tomorrow...we can start over....?” _

He didn't want to see her looking so nervous like that. He hated that image in his head—he couldn't tell why, but...the expression was...not right on her face.

He pushed into the shop, hearing the bells chime somewhere deep within.

“Good morning...oh! Kaiba...”

There she was, her bright, curious blue eyes shining beneath her ridiculously long platinum-blue-white bangs. Her hair was in a ponytail this morning, and it looked really good on her—wait, what was he thinking?

“You're here early,” Kisara said. “I knew that the others were going to come to visit this shift, but I didn't know that you were...”

“I wasn't planning on it,” Seto said shortly, a little too quickly.

He glanced around the shop—it was practically full to the brim with flowers and colors and it was actually making him dizzy, especially when combined with the vast variety of scents all clamoring for his attention. It was also empty, save for him and Kisara.

“Well, feel free to take a look around,” Kisara said, obviously trying really hard to be cheerful. “There's a lot of things to look at.”

“Too many,” Seto said, glancing down at a pot of little white flowers in front of him.

“Oh, those ones are cyclamen. They're really pretty, aren't they? They might be my favorites.... although I like snap-dragons a lot, too.”

Seto snorted.

“I'm not really big on flowers,” he said.

Although his eyes were caught by a pot of white lilies in the corner, and he made a mental note of them. Mokuba liked white lilies a lot and it might be a suitable souvenir. Seto tried not to think about the reason why Mokuba was attached to white lilies and just on the fact that they made his brother smile.

“So what do you even do at this job?” he asked.

“Help customers find flowers...tell them about how to grow certain ones...that kind of thing. And the cash register.”

He glanced back up at her. Her eyes had gone kind of vague for a moment.

“It's funny,” she said. “I had no idea how to run a cash register; Dominic had to show me, so I guess that means I've never used one before. But I can remember a lot of these flowers...so I wonder if I did something with flowers before now?”

That was right, Kisara had amnesia. He wondered for a moment where a girl like her could have come from and how there couldn't be any leads about her yet even in a town with as few people as this. He would have thought that news would spread quickly and she would have been found by now.

“So you really don't remember anything, huh?”

She ducked her head, and he felt actually a bit guilty for a moment bringing something like that up.

“Sometimes I get half-images,” she whispered. “And I still know how to do certain things...but there are small things that I can't believe I don't know. Silly things...like how I didn't know what a hot chocolate was.”

She looked down at her hands on the table. A brief silence followed. Her bangs had fallen across her eyes, but he could still see the turmoil in her expression.

He sighed.

“Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up.”

What was a better topic? Wait, why was he so invested in keeping this conversation going in the first place? And why was he continuing it even as he continued to question himself and his motives? He wasn't used to these feelings, these strange sense of being off balance—he didn't like it.

But he also didn't like the look on her face.

“Tell me about that book you were reading again. The one that you didn't finish talking about last night.”

“That one was...oh! You mean Wuthering Heights?”

“Yeah,” he said, although he couldn't remember if that one was the one she had been talking about. Either way, it had brought the brightness back into her eyes, and he felt something in him relax for some reason.

“I can't remember what I was saying about it...but it was a very good book, I think.”

“It was a romance, wasn't it?”

She blushed.

“Yes. You probably don't read those.”

“Don't have time to find out if I would be interested.”

She laughed softly.

“Well, it was about a woman of a noble house that fell in love with a servant boy,” she said. “And their love was so passionate and so long-lasting that it drove them to fall apart when they could not be together...”

She trailed off. Seto raised an eyebrow.

“They sound a little needy, if you ask me.”

Kisara had to laugh at that.

“I guess so,” she said, still laughing. “It  _ was _ a good book, even though I didn't really agree with it. If you love someone...you want them to be happy, even if they're apart from you. You have the strength to let them go even if you lose them.”

Her face was starting to droop into a strange, sad expression again, but she shook her head and smiled before Seto had to try and change the subject again.

“I did like this one quote in it, though...I think it was something like...'whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.' I thought that was beautiful.”

_ Sappy as hell _ , Seto thought, but he smiled ruefully.

“Probably I wouldn't like romance books,” he said. “Sounds like something my brother would read though...and then rub in my face every few moments.”

“You have a brother?” Kisara asked.

Seto moved away from the flowers he had been pretending to examine to stand by the counter. It was getting annoying to talk from across a distance.

“Yeah. He's eleven. Gets himself into trouble all the time; always nagging me about something. He's the one that made me drop my company for a few weeks and come here.”

“He sounds like he cares a lot about you,” Kisara said, smiling. “Taking a break is important once in a while.”

Seto snorted.

“Yeah. Maybe. I'm going to have one hell of a work-load catch up when I get back, though. Christmas is the worst time of the year to run budgets.”

“Maybe that's why he wanted you to get away,” Kisara said. “You seem like you work too hard normally. Isn't it best to step back during the especially busy time when you already overbook yourself? I think your younger brother is really smart.”

Seto had to smile. Yeah, Mokuba was a nag, but he always had a reason behind the things that he would put his foot down on. If only Seto's fellow businessmen realized how much influence Mokuba had on his work; they'd probably go into shock.

“Besides,” Kisara said, shyly. “If you hadn't come at this time...we might not have met.”

“That's...true.”

He glanced up at her. The light was filtering down through her white hair and he drew in a sharp breath. He couldn't put words to the feelings fluttering through his head, but...he felt relaxed. More relaxed than he had in a long, long time. This girl was... _ comfortable. _ It felt strangely reassuring to be around her. Normally, feelings like this would make him suspicious, but she didn't seem to have an ulterior bone in her body. She was so frank and open and honest. There was nothing obstructing the conversation, no ulterior motives or business ideals to get in the way of the conversation. She didn't seem to expect anything from him.

It was actually kind of freeing.

“So are you going to come with everyone to the cafe for lunch today?” Kisara said, finally breaking the silence. She spoke a little too quickly, as though she were embarrassed of her last words.

“And spend another few hours with Jonouchi?” Seto snorted. “I'd rather be thrown into a snow drift.”

“Oh, you,” Kisara said. “It wouldn't hurt you to be a little less prickly around the others. At least Yami seems to be friendly, you know.”

Yami? Was that what they were calling Yugi here? What a stupid name. Was he trying to be cool, with the name “darkness”? Didn't seem like Yugi's style. He decided to let it slide.

“We're not buddies,” he said shortly.

Kisara was smiling at him anyway.

“Maybe you're not as bad off as I thought you were,” she said.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing~”

She turned away quickly and started fiddling with the cash register. Seto stared at her for a moment again, taking in her profile. He had a sudden, brief vision, like a memory coming to him, of the feeling of a warm body against his and running his fingers through silky hair. He shook his head quickly, startled by the thoughts.

And then he was speaking without thinking—something that he had never done before in his life that he could remember.

“Instead of that, do you want to go to a different cafe with me for lunch? I saw several on the other side of the square.”

Kisara's head jerked up. She stared at him with huge, wide eyes. For a split second, she just stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly and a blush creeping along her cheeks.

Just as Seto was regretting saying a word, a smile broke across Kisara's face.

“That sounds nice,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I'd like that.”

A strange warmth crept through Seto's chest at her smile.

It felt familiar.

**. . .**

_ This was what I wanted. _

_ I wanted to see him smiling. _

_ Just one last time. _

**. . .**

Seto Kaiba was waiting for her after she got off her shift. Kisara felt her cheeks warming at the sight of his tall, awkward frame. He looked like he had no idea what he was doing standing there, and it was adorable. She giggled as she pulled on the gloves and hat that she had borrowed from Dawn. They were very cute; they appeared to have been hand-knit, and they were a dark blue interspersed with hints of silver thread.

She walked over to him.

“So, where are we going?” she asked.

He looked so  _ awkward _ , it was so cute! He seemed to be trying to play it off as gruffness, but it wasn't really working on her.

“I don't know. I just saw a few cafes down the street from that other one the geek squad is going to be inhabiting. You probably know this place a little better than I do.”

“I've only been to Cherry Bites with everyone,” she said. “So this will be new for me too.”

Seto grunted. Then after a moment of standing still and silent, he turned around and started walking.

“Well, let's go.”

Kisara hurried to catch up and walk beside him. They walked in silence for a moment. He obviously didn't know what to say, and Kisara couldn't think of any more topics of conversation. She grasped around for something to say, but came up with nothing by the time they reached the first cafe. It was a small one, smaller than Cherry Bites, at least, and there was only one other couple inside.

“This looks like a sandwich place,” Kisara said. “Want to try it?”

“Sure.”

He shrugged noncommittally. They stood awkwardly in front of the door for a moment. Then Kisara finally reached for the handle and let herself in, and Seto followed. They were greeted instantly by a woman with golden blonde hair and warm russet colored eyes. Her name tag read Layla D.

“Two today?” she said. “We have a table right here by the window for you if that's what you'd like.”

“That would be great, thank you,” Kisara said.

She gestured to Seto and he followed almost uncertainly.

“Can I get anything for you to drink off the bat?” Layla asked. “Water? Soda? Coffee?”

“Water please,” Kisara said as she took her seat.

“Coffee,” Seto grunted.

“Great. I'll be right back. Menus are on the table already.”

Layla snapped her pad shut, winked at Kisara, and sashayed back to the counter. A silence fell over the table. Kisara made a show of looking down at the menu, but the silence was awkward and she could feel it.

She looked up at Seto. He was also staring down at the menu as though it were the most interesting thing in the world. Kisara swallowed.

“Um...so tell me more about your little brother. What's his name?”

Seto glanced up with a bit of surprise. He obviously hadn't expected the silence to break any time soon.

“...Mokuba,” he said, after he had gathered himself.

“And you said he was eleven?”

“Yeah.”

“He sounds like a bit of a handful.”

Seto actually cracked a smile.

“You have no idea. He's constantly nagging me about one thing or another. Especially about working too much.”

Kisara giggled.

“Don't you think that's a sign of something?”

“Of what?”

“Working too much, probably.”

Seto's smile was half grimace.

“...maybe.”

“He probably wants you to spend more time with him,” Kisara said, placing her hands on her lap and shifting in her chair. “What does he like to do? Is he still in school?”

“Yeah, he's still in middle school...I think he's too smart for his own good, though. He mostly just watches television or plays Capsule Monsters...have you seen that game before?”

“I don't think so.”

“Yeah, I didn't think it had gotten very far out of Japan.”

They paused as Layla returned with their drinks.

“Ready to order or do you need more time?”

The pair glanced at each other.

“I think we're ready,” Seto said.

“Yeah,” Kisara said.

They each placed an order for a sandwich and Layla was bustling off again with a smile on her face. Seto watched her go with narrowed eyes.

“Funny. Swear I've seen her somewhere before,” he muttered, then shook his head. “But yeah. Mokuba's...he's the only family I have left, actually. So I don't mind if he nags. Or sends me out to England during the Christmas season.”

Kisara laughed.

“It sounds like you two get along really well,” she said. “I was always arguing with my older siblings.”

And then she stopped, her breath catching in her throat and eyes wide. Seto was staring at her too—he had understood the importance of what she had said.

“Siblings,” she whispered. “I had—have?—siblings.”

Seto leaned slightly over the table, his hand sliding across the surface to barely touch her fingers. The touch brought her to her senses. She had felt suddenly as though she were dizzy and drunk, the thought of a memory returning to her making her so happy she was giddy.

“Don't push too hard,” he said, eyes locking with hers. “Memories aren't easy. But is there anything else you remember?”

Kisara swallowed. No. Nothing else was coming—nothing big, nothing like faces or images.

“Four,” she whispered. “There were four of us. That's...all I remember.”

Her eyes dropped to the table.

“And I think...I think I can remember my mother...” she whispered. “Just...barely...”

She felt tears welling up in her eyes. But they were joyful tears—she was remembering.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Seto looked surprised.

“For what?”

“I think you're helping me remember,” she said. “I feel like I'm starting to remember around you. It's not just the memory of siblings or my mother it's...it's something else...I think I'm starting to remember why I'm here...”

“What do you mean?” Seto said.

Kisara looked up, right into his eyes. He looked actually rather concerned. Sometime during the course of the conversation, his hand had completely slid on top of hers, and her fingers had entwined into his. They both realized his at the same time, and at the same time they quickly broke apart. Kisara tucked her hands away onto her lap, and Seto gripped at his mug, looking away out the window.

“Never mind,” Kisara whispered. “But thank you...anyway.”

Sadness. There was a sadness creeping through her, because she was starting to remember.

Not only that, she was starting to  _ know _ .

Seto did not quite look at her.

“It's...no problem,” he said, finally. Quietly.

He hesitated, his eyes dropping to his coffee.

“Don't look so sad,” he said all of a sudden, a gruff edge to his voice. “If you're remembering things, you should be happy about that. So stop looking like you're going to cry.”

Kisara had to smile at his tone. He really was awkward, wasn't he?

He always had been in situations like this.

Her breath caught in her throat, because it was starting to become clear. And the thought of it was almost too hard to bear.

There were cyclamen flowers in the centerpiece on the table.

**. . .**

It was cold and already starting to fade towards late afternoon when they left the cafe.

“Thank you, Seto,” Kisara said. “This really is nice. I'm glad we were able to become friends.”

Seto half smiled. She was so cheerful it would have been annoying to him on most days. But he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so relaxed, and he felt he had her to thank for it.

“You too,” he said.

Kisara's cheeks were rosy, but that was probably from the wind, because she was smiling so widely that he couldn't imagine she felt embarrassed about anything.

“I'm so glad,” she whispered. “Not only that I got to meet you but...I feel like I'm on the verge of remembering! And I think it's because of you.”

“I think you're overestimating me,” Seto muttered.

She heard him anyway and let out her beautiful, bell-like laugh.

“You're better at being friendly than you realize, I think,” she said. “If you just act like you do with me with Yami and the others, you could be good friends!”

“Why would I want to be friends with them?” he said, but he was really just saying it to be argumentative. “Besides, why are you so stuck on me making friends?”

Kisara laughed again. She grabbed her hand between her own.

“Because I think you look rather handsome when you smile, and I wish you'd do it more,” she said.

Seto actually felt a warmth creep along his cheeks. What the actual hell? He wasn't actually flattered by that, was he? This girl was so confusing to him. She made him feel confused.

But he didn't take his hand away from hers. He actually liked the feeling of her warmth on his gloveless hands.

This all felt so familiar. So comfortable, easy, relaxed.

He really liked the feeling.

“Have you seen Risgate's giant Christmas tree yet?” Kisara asked.

“I'm not really a Christmas person, in case you hadn't heard,” Seto said, raising an eyebrow.

Kisara giggled.

“Just come look at it with me? It really is pretty.”

Seto shrugged.

“I don't have anything else to do.”

Kisara smiled so widely that he felt the warmth in his chest spread and fill him.

He could get used to this relaxing feeling, actually. He tried not to think about how much Mokuba would tease him about this if he knew. That thought actually brought a smile to his face.

He followed Kisara down the darkening street and out of the square. They followed a few more streets and then the reached the center park of the town.

He was shocked that he hadn't seen this already—the tree was huge, easily thirty feet tall and strung up with hundreds of golden lights and silver ornaments, a star twinkling at the top. The lights were already turned on, as the sun was setting so early.

He heard Kisara sigh contentedly.

“It's beautiful,” she said.

“Mm.”

It was almost an unconscious movement. But the next thing he knew, Kisara was sliding her hand against his, and he was folding his fingers into hers. It felt natural. It felt like he had done it before.

“I'm glad I got to see something like this with you,” Kisara said.

So sappy, Seto thought with a wry grin. But all he said was,

“Yeah.”

“And I'm glad I got to meet you.”

“...me too,” Seto said, and was surprised to realize just how much he meant it.

Her hand was so warm in his. He turned to look down at her, at the lights of the tree that were reflected in her deep blue eyes, looking almost black in the light.

This felt all too familiar.

“Kisara,” he said, without really thinking about it. “Kisara...have we...met...before?”

Kisara blinked with surprise. Her hand dropped from his and she turned to face him. Her eyes turned up to look at him. He drew in a breath—those eyes. Yes, he had seen those before. But where? His mind flickered back to the vision he had had during Battle City. But no, that was impossible. He didn't believe in things like that.

After a long beat, he shook his head, wiping his face with one hand.

“Never mind, that was stupid. I'm sorry. I would remember if...”

“...I'm so lucky...”

Her voice was so quiet that he almost didn't hear her at first. He turned his eyes back towards her. She was staring at the ground, her long bangs totally shadowing her eyes. Her hands were clasped behind her back.

It was starting to snow.

“What?” Seto said.

“I said...I'm so lucky...that I got to have this moment. Most people...don't...”

“Kisara?”

Kisara didn't look up. She didn't move.

“Seto, I remember now.”

“You...remember? Really?”

“Yes. You brought them back. My memories.”

She looked up then, and her eyes were shining with tears. Seto stepped forward in spite of himself.

“I'm so lucky,” she said again. “So, so lucky. People don't get this chance, you know? They don't get this chance.”

“Kisara –”

“I'm so thankful that she let me share her dream for just a little while. I'm so glad that I got this moment. Because now I can finally say the thing that I didn't get to say back then.”

“ _ Kisara  _ –”

And Kisara stepped forward, right up on tiptoe in front of him, and pressed her lips against his.

It was like an explosion in his head. He couldn't describe the feeling, couldn't put words to what it was, but this was something that he knew, something that had happened before, and it was—it was –

He closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss. Her hands pressed against his chest, and his came up against her waist, feeling the warmth of her through her coat. This felt right. Familiar. Oh, he had done this before. But how—why—when –

She broke away from him, then. He couldn't open his eyes for a moment. He could still feel her on his lips, his hands were still on her waist.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Please be happy. And...finally... _ good-bye. _ ”

She stepped quickly from his arms. His eyes flew open.

Kisara was gone.

He whipped around in a circle. What? Where had she—she couldn't have gone far!

“Kisara!” he shouted. “ _ Kisara! _ ”

He didn't care about the people that were starting to stare at him. He felt an unnatural fear pulsing through him. She couldn't have gone far. He should see some sign of her hair disappearing as she wove around the crowd. Why had she run away? Where was she??

_ “KISARA!” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cyclamen = goodbye


	14. A Strange Looking Amaryllis

With nothing else to do, Yami no Yugi was the first to arrive back at the cafe for lunch. He had stalled for as long as he could, afraid that he might end up there alone with Mana and have to deal with the awkwardness that was sure to follow.

He was lucky, however, and there was actually no one in the cafe at all when he arrived.

Feeling like it would be too strange for him to sit down by himself, he ducked into the bathroom before the young man at the counter could even notice that he was there.

Yami no Yugi just stood there, then, staring at himself in the mirror.

Red eyes. Not purple. It was strange to remember that that changed when he switched places with Yugi. Was it possible that no one noticed that? He leaned in closer to the mirror, staring at his face.  _ Yugi's face _ . What about his own body, his own expressions? What had  _ he _ looked like when he had had his own existence? Had he had the same crimson eyes?

He stepped away from the mirror then, a little unnerved by his own eyes.

He looked demonic. Unnatural.

That was what he was, wasn't it?

_ “Other me,” _ Yugi whispered, a half-begging sort of tone. A tone that said  _ no, please don't think like that. _

How much of his thoughts had Yugi been picking up on? Yami no Yugi shook his head.

“I'm fine, partner,” he whispered. “I'm fine.”

_ “No, you're not.” _

“I have to be fine.”

The projection of Yugi appeared beside him, staring straight into Yami no Yugi's eyes—violet to crimson.

_ “Other me, I'm not jealous of you,” _ Yugi said, frowning.  _ “And I don't care about sharing my body. As far as I'm concerned, this is your body too, you know. I said I would share my memories and everything with you.” _

Yami no Yugi tried to smile, but he felt too low to really get it out.

“Thank you, partner.”

It was all he could say—because even if Yugi meant it, which he was sure he did, Yami no Yugi could never truly take him up on this promise. Because he would never feel as though this was his life to live. It wasn't. No matter what Yugi would say or think, Yami no Yugi knew he couldn't take his life away from him.

_ “...You should have told her.” _

“Told her what?”

_ “That you love her too. Because you do, don't you?” _

Yami no Yugi dropped his eyes from Yugi's.

“...I don't know what I feel.”

The silence grew like an echo in the cold bathroom. For a few moments, it seemed as though Yugi might say something, anything, something else that he would try to get through to Yami no Yugi with.

But then he just faded, back into his Soul Room without another word. He must have sensed that there was nothing else to be said.

Yami no Yugi could not remember feeling more alone since he had become fully conscious.

As though from farther away than it actually was, he heard the door chimes ringing from the front of the shop. Laughter filtered in along with the whoosh of winter wind.

“Ah, I'm going to jump to the lady's room for a moment!” he heard Dawn say. “Be right back.”

“Okay, Bakura-kun and I will claim the table and wait for everyone,” he heard Anzu say.

The sound of Dawn's footsteps echoed past the men's bathroom and into the women's. He still didn't move. 

“Whew! Much better in here,” Anzu laughed.

“It certainly is cold out,” said Ryo, with a small laugh of his own. “Your cheeks are all red, Anzu-chan.”

“Yours too!”

The skrruuuntch sound of heavy chairs being pulled across tile, and then scootched back into place.

“I'll text the others and see what's up; I thought we were going to be late!” Anzu said.

He could see her in his mind's eye, pulling off her knit gloves so that she could better handle her little flip phone with the ballet shoes phone charm.

“It's really pretty amazing that everyone's getting along so well,” said Ryo.

“I know! I was worried Jou and Honda's English was going to make this hard, but it's weird; they're doing much better than I thought they would. It's almost unnatural!”

Anzu laughed as she said it to indicate that she was only joking, but it was true, the boys were doing much better talking to the others than they should have a right to, Yami no Yugi realized.

For a moment, there was only silence. Yami no Yugi wondered if the pair was staring out the window and into the snow that was starting to fall, the sky that was beginning to darken.

“Kinda dreamlike, you know?” Anzu murmured. “I've never seen so much snow.”

“I know,” Ryo said. “It's peaceful, though, right?”

“Mm.”

“So...what do you think about England?”

“It's really, really lovely. Everyone is so friendly. And I feel like I could talk to Mana and Dawn for hours. Dawn knows a lot about dance, you know? I was really surprised.”

“I'm sure Yugi is glad we're all hitting it off so well.”

“I'm sure,” Anzu said, the smile clear in her voice. “It's really nice to know that the other Yugi is able to make friends, you know? I was so surprised to hear that he was the one that ended up introducing himself to everyone. He's always seemed...kind of reserved, you know? A little bit awkward. I was glad to hear that he had made other friends, too.”

“Yeah,” Ryo said. “He and Mana seem to get along really well, don't they? Like they've known each other for a really long time.”

And there seemed to be something else hidden in Ryo's blithe statement—Yami no Yugi couldn't really understand what it was, but it was like the sound of his voice left a strange aftertaste.

A soft tapping sound, as though Anzu was starting to play around with the salt shakers or something.

“Yeah,” she said, and there was...a strain in her voice? “Yeah, they do, don't they...?”

“Anzu-chan?”

Another silence. Yami no Yugi could hear Anzu spinning the salt shaker in circles, making a peculiar scratchy sound.

“It's nothing,” she said. “Nothing at all. Sorry, Bakura-kun, I'm just a little tired.”

Yami no Yugi felt his shoulders slump. He thought he knew what feelings had colored Anzu's tone.

He  _ knew _ her feelings for him. He  _ knew _ Yugi's feelings for her. Yami no Yugi was an outsider that had just been wedged in between the friends. 

Was there no end to the ways that Yami no Yugi was ruining Yugi's life?

*  *  *

Silverware clattered and chatter flowed freely around the cafe.

Yami no Yugi, however, wasn't in the mood for talking.

He had shrunk back deep inside the Puzzle, not letting Yugi push him back into control. To his partner's credit, he didn't try. But Yugi seemed to not have an appetite for conversation either, just poking at his food as the others laughed and talked.

Jonouchi glanced over at them, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Oy,” he said, leaning across to his friend. “What's up? You okay?”

Yugi startled.

“Huh...? Sorry, did you say something?”

Jonouchi frowned.

“I knew it. Something's on your mind. Is is anything I can solve by punching things?”

Yugi had to laugh at that.

“No, it's nothing like that, Jonouchi-kun. Thanks, but...I don't think I can put it into words yet.”

Yami no Yugi could see his partner's eyes wander towards Anzu for a brief moment. Had he been in control, he would have felt his stomach tighten with guilt.

It wasn't fair that he was here to hijack Yugi's life.

Jonouchi didn't look convinced. He glanced around the table as though to figure out who might be the source of his friend's mood.

“Kaiba didn't say anything stupid to you, did he? Is that why he's not here right now? Where is that bastard, anyway? Or maybe it's that Cadence girl? She ain't here either, come to think of it.”

“No, no, it doesn't have anything to do with Kaiba,” Yugi said. “Really, Jonouchi-kun, I'm okay. I'm just...tired, I guess. This trip has been pretty non-stop already, you know.”

Jonouchi nodded slowly. He didn't look convinced—and Yami no Yugi wasn't surprised. It wouldn't be the first time that Yugi downplayed his own emotional state in order to make sure his friends wouldn't worry. But what was there really to say? That Yugi was growing a bit jealous of Yami no Yugi's influence? Perhaps that wasn't what his partner was thinking at all, but Yami no Yugi couldn't help but worry. If it was him that had to share his own body...perhaps he would feel a little jealous. It was hard for him to imagine how this affected Yugi. This body-sharing state was the only state that Yami no Yugi could remember knowing. He didn't know how it changed the way Yugi acted and felt. And he was a little afraid to learn just what those feelings of his partner's were.

He shrank back further into the Puzzle, so he wouldn't have to listen to the conversation, so he wouldn't have to catch peripheral glimpses of Mana at the other end of the table. She had looked as cheerful as ever, as though whatever had happened between them hadn't happened at all, laughing and leaning across the table to push at Dawn's shoulder for a stupid pun she had made. Smiling and laughing. Just like always.

He wanted to sit next to her. He wanted to lean against her and have her lean against him, to feel the warmth and softness of her skin on his. He could not remember feeling this way about anyone before. This desire just to be there, right next to her, maybe not even touching, but just sitting beside each other and being in each other's presence, knowing that the other was there. He wanted that, more than anything he could ever remember wanting. And it hurt—why did it hurt so much? Whatever this feeling was...he wasn't sure he wanted it.

Maybe Yugi picked up on his feelings. Maybe Yugi's own roiling emotions were just too much for him to handle at that point. Either way, Yugi stood up a bit abruptly.

“Sorry, I'll be back,” he said hurriedly to Jonouchi, who had looked up first. “Air. Just need some—air.”

And he hurried outside before anyone could stop him—even though half the table was staring at him at this point.

Yami no Yugi did not let himself surface, even as Yugi stepped out into the blast of cold. He should project himself, he thought. Try to see what was wrong with his partner and try to comfort him.

But what right did he have to comfort Yugi when he had been using his partner all this time? What right did he have to have a friend like Yugi when all Yami no Yugi had done was lead him into danger and take away some of his agency from him? So he did not surface. He stayed, hidden, deep in the Puzzle.

Yugi just stood there out in the cold. He leaned against the wall beside the window so that his friend's couldn't see him staring aimlessly into the sky, watching his breath drift away like a whisper of clouds.

“...Yugi?”

The soft voice caused Yugi to jump. Even Yami no Yugi startled within the Puzzle.

Anzu stood just outside the cafe door, her hands clasped behind her back. She was wearing that long black coat she had bought earlier in the day, button up across her almost like the fold of a kimono, with the belt tied into a loose bow around her waist. The dark fabric accentuated her figure against the white of the snow that hung across everything, cutting her silhouette from the background.

“Anzu?” Yugi said. “Um...”

“Are you okay?” said Anzu.

Her dark blue eyes were almost black in the fading light of the day. They were dark with concern and uncertainty.

Yugi shrank slightly.

“I...yeah, I guess so...”

Anzu's eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yugi,” she said.

A blush crept across Yugi's cheeks.

“....I guess I'm not.”

Anzu crossed the distance between them in two steps. For a moment, she just stood there, beside him, silent.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

Again, silence grew between them.

“Um...Anzu-chan...what do you think about Mana?”

Anzu blinked. She obviously hadn't been expecting this question.

“Mana? Well...she's really nice. And always smiling and laughing. It's like she brightens the place up just by being there.”

Anzu smiled.

“I like her. A lot. I wish we could spend even more time here, because I would like to get to know her even better.”

“You're not...I mean...I...”

“Yugi?”

Yami no Yugi could almost hear the unspoken words echoing in Yugi's head.

_ “Are you jealous of her?” _

_ “Because she and other me get along so well?” _

“Never mind, it's nothing,” Yugi said, forcing a smile, and actually being rather convincing. “I'm really glad that you're friends with everyone.”

Anzu hesitated, examining Yugi's expression. Then she smiled back, albeit a little uncertainly.

“I'm glad too,” she said. “But Yugi...are you sure you're all right? You look a little sick.”

“Just...tired, I think.”

“You know...you don't have to put on a brave face for everyone. If you want me to walk with you back to the motel so you can rest early...?”

“Thanks, Anzu-chan...but I think I'll walk home on my own, if that's okay. You're right, I think I need a rest.”

Anzu half-smiled. Then she quickly and lightly squeezed Yugi's shoulder before dropping her hand away.

“Only if you're sure you don't need me to come with,” she said.

“It's fine, Anzu-chan. I don't want you to miss out on hanging out with everyone.”

“All right....feel better, okay? We're here for you.”

“Thanks.”

They hesitated there in the snow for a moment, the flakes falling silently around them, the grayness of the night settling in like a thick blanket. There were words in that silence, words that neither of them knew how to say—or even  _ what _ , exactly, to say.

“I guess I'm gonna go,” Yugi said. “Tell the others I'm okay, okay?”

“I will.”

Yugi took a half step back. Then before he could think better of it, he just nodded at Anzu and turned away, speedwalking away through the snow.

Yami no Yugi stirred for a moment, instinctively reaching out to comfort his partner's roiling emotions. But then he drew back.

Because what right did he have to do so?

Yugi didn't stop walking until he was far away from the square. The snow was falling harder now. It drifted around Yugi's harsh breaths that sent columns of smoke into the air. A streetlamp turned itself on. Snowflakes glittered in the new beam of light – flakes of diamonds in the air.

It was quiet.

“Other me,” Yugi whispered, his voice almost raspy. “Other me.”

_ “...Yugi?” _

“I don't...I'm not angry at you...you know? I'm not. Because you're the best friend I've ever had, and I don't...I don't want you to...please don't distance yourself....other me...”

He choked on the lump in his throat, then, and had to stop talking.

Yami no Yugi projected his image out in front of Yugi.

_ “Yugi...” _ he said.  _ “I'm...I'm sorry, I—”  _

The words died in his throat.

_ “YUGI!” _

Yugi's head jolted up—Yami no Yugi had already thrust himself back into control and he dove for the ground.

Snow smashed in him in the face and he coughed. The thing he had been trying to avoid zoomed harmlessly over him—what the hell was it?

_ “Other me! Other me, what is that??” _

“I have no idea!”

Yami no Yugi spat snow out of his mouth. All he had been able to see of it was a looming, warping shadow that had moved with surprising speed towards Yugi. It had all he had been able to comprehend before he had to get Yugi out of the way.

He scrambled to his feet. Ice slid under his feet—he almost collapsed again.

It was in the park across the street now, the one where he had found Kisara before. He could see it lumbering back around, vaguely illuminated by the streetlamp.

“What...what is it?”

Even though he was staring right at it, he still couldn't make out what it was. It was like he was only seeing the shadow of the thing, as though it were surrounded in a thick mist. It was just...just a shape. Nothing more than a vague lump of shadows that kind of warped and wriggled. It made no sound—it wasn't even leaving any tracks behind!  An unnatural feeling of dread fell over him, tightened around his throat like a noose.  The thing turned to face him—or at least he could  _ feel _ it staring at him, although it had no ideas.  His heart rate picked up, his mouth went dry.  Shadow magic flooded his system in preparation for defense.  But defense from what?  What was it?

“Yugi, we have to—” he started.

And then another shape darted through the snow.

But this one was not the same vague, lumpy shadow shape as the other. This one was clear and sharp, as though it belonged to the world and the other did not. Black fabric rippled with movement. Something glinted like blue metal.

A silent cry reverberated through Yami no Yugi.  Tears sprung to his eyes for no reason.

And then the giant shadow shape was gone.  Only the other, clear shadow remained in the park.

Only Cadence Mulloy was left standing there.

The sky was full dark now.  The snow had stopped.  Cadence's glasses glinted in the light of the distant streetlamp.  Her eyes, dark and shadowed in the darkness, turned towards Yami no Yugi, her braid swaying.  Blue light sparked around her fingertips before disappearing.

“Ca...dence?” Yami no Yugi said.

Cadence's lips turned down.

“Forget you saw anything,” she said, voice strained and clipped.  “Keep going to wherever it is you were going.”

“Forget I—Cadence, you can't expect me to just  _ forget _ something like that!  What the hell was it?  What did you do?”

“It's none of your business.”

“ _ Cadence! _ ”

They hadn't spoken since that day in front of the cafe, when she had told him that she hated him for existing.  Now he remembered why.

He stalked across the street, crunching into the snow.  Cadence turned to face him fully—she was taller than him, and stared down at him over her nose.  He wasn't intimidated by height, though.  He never had been.

“What. Was. That. Thing?” he said.

Cadence's nose wrinkled slightly, as though being close to him disgusted her.

“It's. None. Of. Your. Business,” she said back.

Tensity shot through Yami no Yugi's every vein.  He could feel his shadow magic roiling inside the Puzzle, reacting to his emotions.

“That thing was dangerous—I could sense it.  What was it?  Are there  _ more _ of them?”

Cadence's lip curled.

“You want to know?” she said.  “You really  _ want _ to know?”

She leaned down then so that her face was mere inches from Yami no Yugi's.  Yami no Yugi didn't falter, didn't lean away, just glared right back.

“Yes, there are more of them,” she said, her voice cold.  “There are  _ hundreds _ of them, they show up every single night.  And they're here because of  _ you. _ ”

The words echoed in the darkness.

Yami no Yugi felt as though he had been punched in the stomach.  He had no air in his lungs.  No words on his lips.  His mouth opened and closed a few times—but what was he trying to say?

Cadence smirked at his obvious discomfort as she leaned back away from him.  But the smile was gone soon after, and she was back to her normal scowl.

“There,” she said.  “Are you happy now?”

Her voice was enough to reawaken Yami no Yugi's original fury.  His fists rolled up at his sides.

“What do you mean, they're here because of me?” he said.  “I've never seen them before.  How can they be my doing?  What proof do you have?”

“Because they've never shown up before you got here,” Cadence said.  “We had maybe one or two appear...but since you arrived there have been hundreds or more every single night.  You're causing their increase.  You're the reason that people are in danger.  Why do you think I've been telling you to leave?”

Yami no Yugi actually felt dizzy.  Was she—was Cadence telling the truth?  But— _ how _ ...

The dizziness faded as Yugi snapped into control with a rush.

“Shut up!” he shouted.  “Shut up, Cadence!  This isn't other me's fault!  Take it back!”

There was such  _ venom _ in his partner's voice that Yami no Yugi felt dizzy again.   _ Partner, please... _

“It's not his fault!” Yugi shouted.  “It's not his  _ fault! _  You don't get it, this is the happiest he's been in  _ ages! _  Why do you want to take that away from him?!”

“Should I put his happiness over mine?” Cadence said, her voice rising to a high pitch.  “Should I put his happiness over  _ Mana's? _  If he stays, Mana will be in danger!  If he stays, everyone will be in danger!  If he stays Mana will—Mana will—”

She didn't seem to be able to finish the sentence.  She covered her mouth with one hand and closed her eyes as though she were about to throw up.

“Do you want to take Mana away so badly?” she whispered between her fingers.  “Do you want to take her away from her friends so badly?  Do you think you're better than her friends?  Do you think that you deserve her?”

_ No...no, I don't... _

“Do you think that you have the right to decide what Mana does?” Yugi shouted, stepping forward.  “Are you so possessive of her that you won't let Mana make her own decisions??  She likes the other me!  Why can't you be supportive of her?”

“I'm trying to protect her!” Cadence said, practically shrieking.  “And so help me, if you or the other you gets in my way of accomplishing that—”

She actually drew her hand back, as though she were going to strike him, her eyes wide like a cornered animal.

Yami no Yugi leaped back into control.

“Don't touch him,” he hissed.  “Whatever hatred you have for me, don't you dare put Yugi into this.”

Cadence was actually trembling—though with rage or something else, it was impossible to tell.  Her hand dropped to her side.  Her shoulders heaved with her heavy, rasping breaths.

A faint feeling of dread poked at Yami no Yugi.  As though another of those creatures were nearby, another one of these terrible things that Cadence blamed him for bringing with him was stalking the night.  Cadence closed her eyes.  Her lips pressed together.

“I still have work to do,” she whispered, her voice trembling ever so slightly.  “This is your last warning, Yugi Mutou.  Leave.  Unless you want Mana to suffer the consequences.”

She turned on her heel, black dress swooshing around her like the shadows themselves.

“Wait—” Yami no Yugi started.

It was too late.  

She was already disappearing into the darkness, the sound of her footsteps fading into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> amaryllis = pride


	15. Azaela Atop the Hill

Yami no Yugi dragged on the way back to the motel.  There were messages on his phone, asking where he was, but he had only had the presence of mind to send out a blank 'i'm fine be back soon' to everyone.  He hadn't responded to any of the other messages.  Hadn't even looked.  He didn't think his brain could handle anything else tonight.  Even Yugi felt so tired.

Was it true?  Was it Yami no Yugi's fault that those creatures were here?  Was he the reason that Mana was in danger?  It would be just another thing he could add to the list of problems caused by his being here.

He took care to shield this train of thought from Yugi; he knew that his partner would try to reason with him, try to tell him that nothing was his fault, but Yami no Yugi didn't think he could handle being given that kind of reassurance right now, not when he felt like he didn't deserve it so badly.

He turned down the last dark street, the motel at the end.  All he wanted now was to fall into bed and drop off into the deepness of floating in nothingness.  Never before had he wished so badly to have the ability to actually sleep.  But the rest would be good...perhaps in the morning he would be able to see the answers...

_ crunchcrunchcrunchcrunch _

Someone...running through the snow?

Tiredly, he glanced over his shoulder.  And a jolt shot through him as he saw the wide-eyed, red-faced figure of Kaiba bolting towards him.  Without even a word, the taller boy grabbed Yami no Yugi by the shoulders and whipped him around to face him.

“Kisara,” he said, half choking on his words.  “Have you seen—Kisara.”

“Slow down, Kaiba,  _ breathe! _ ” Yami no Yugi said.  “What happened?  What about Kisara?”

“She's gone.  She disappeared.”

Yami no Yugi felt something cold slip into his stomach.

“She...what?”

Seto's eyes bore into Yami no Yugi's.

_ “Kisara is gone.” _

*    *    *

The morning brought absolutely no relief.

“Kaiba, I'm sure everything is fine,” Anzu said.  “Calm down...I'm sure Kisara just went home...”

Seto merely growled at Anzu and continued to pace in circles in the middle of the motel lobby.

It had been hard to get an explanation out of him last night.  He had been out with Kisara (this was meant with shock from Jonouchi and Honda's corner that had to be suppressed before the irritable Kaiba would go any farther), they had been at the Christmas tree, he had closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, she had been gone.  No sign of her anywhere.

This prompted a mumble from Jonouchi about maybe she had been trying to escape from him that earned the blond boy a solid whack upside the head from Anzu.

“She probably just got overwhelmed,” Yugi said, trying to be soothing as possible.  “She's had a rough time after all...maybe she had to duck away and then felt embarrassed, and couldn't get back.”

“That's not—no.  That's not what happened,” Seto said, shaking his head and continuing to pace.  “She was—dammit.”

Yugi frowned at his rival.  It was odd to see him so worked up like this.  His face was somewhat flushed, still, and he didn't look as though he had slept a wink.  He paced with a somewhat frantic energy, as though he were bursting with emotions that he didn't know how to handle and it was making him jittery.  Jonouchi and Honda looked half asleep on the lobby couch; although Yami no Yugi had persuaded Seto to go to bed and they would check on Kisara in the morning, that it was probably nothing to be worried about, the young CEO had ended up getting everyone up at five in the morning.

Yugi sighed, and dialed Dawn's number for the second time.  He knew that Kisara was still staying with the Greys, but he also knew that Dawn was no morning person, and she had probably not heard the call the first time.

Finally, there was an answer.

“Hello?” said the soft voice of Darcy. 

“Darcy, it's Yu—Yami,” Yugi said, remembering what his name was supposed to be in this town.  “Umm...sorry, did I wake you up?  I was trying to call Dawn.”

Darcy laughed softly.

“No, you're fine.  I've been up most of the night anyway; I'm afraid Dawn doesn't hear her phone when she's sleeping.  Is something wrong?”

“We just wanted to check on Kisara.  Apparently she disappeared sometime last night, and we wanted to make sure she got home safely...”

Silence.  There was only the soft buzz of the phone in Yugi's ear for a few moments.

“No, she didn't,” Darcy said finally, his voice sounding...tired?  Resigned?  “We did receive a text from her last night saying she might not be back until very late...but she hasn't messaged us since.”

Yugi felt dread growing in the pit of his stomach.  The feeling drew Yami no Yugi out of the Puzzle for the first time this morning.  His other self's projection frowned, eyes hard and worried.  The pair exchanged a glance.  Darcy hadn't heard from Kisara either?  Then where...

“Okay, thank you,” Yugi said.  “We'll go out and look around for her...um, should we call the police or something?”

“I'll take care of that,” Darcy said.  “Just be careful, all of you.”

“Of course, thank you, Mr. Grey.”

“Yugi,” said Darcy suddenly, just before Yugi was about to hang up.

“Yes?”

A brief pause.  And then Darcy spoke again, sounding so very tired.

“Don't look too hard,” he said, voice barely above a breath.  “It's not...never mind.”

And then the man hung up.  Yugi stared at his phone for a moment.  The dread in his stomach only increased.

What did Darcy know?

Why had he called him 'Yugi?'

Was he also...like Dawn?  

And what was happening in this town?

“Well?” Seto said, impatiently.  He had stopped pacing for long enough to listen to Yugi's side of the conversation.

“She didn't come home last night,” Yugi said.  “Darcy said he'll call the police.  We should go look for her, too.”

Yugi's heart sank as he saw Seto's expression break slightly.  He immediately covered it up with his usual scowl—but for the first time, it seemed shaken, barely clinging to his face.

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth.

Without another word to the others, he stalked through the doors and into the cold.

Yugi turned to face his friends.  They met his gaze with varied degrees of worry and  unease.

“We'd better get started,” Anzu said, standing up.  “She can't have gone far.”

“I still think Kaiba did somethin' to her,” Jonouchi said, scowling.  “Ow!”

This last bit was because Anzu had smacked him again.

“I'll call Mana and the others...they should know what's going on,” Yugi said.

“We'll try the flower shop first,” Anzu said.  “You two dorks are with me.”

She grabbed Jonouchi and Honda by the sleeves and half dragged them out into the slowly dawning day.

“We'll catch up,” Ryo called after her.

She just nodded and then all three were gone.  Ryo sent Yugi a half smile as Yugi put his phone back to his ear.

“We'll find her,” he said.  “Don't worry, Yugi.”

Yugi tried to smile back, but found it difficult.

He turned back out towards the glass doors.

An early morning mist was beginning to form.

*    *    *

Yami no Yugi found Seto walking at a fast clip towards the flower shop.  He wasn't sure how he had managed to catch up, but lengthened his strides to match pace with the much taller young man.

“Kaiba,” he said.  “It's going to be okay.  We're going to find her.”

Seto only grunted, and did not look down to acknowledge Yami no Yugi's presence.  Yami no Yugi fell silent then, because what else was there to say?

They reached the shop, then, and Seto hesitated.  His hand hovered over the handle, and for the first time that Yami no Yugi could remember, his rival legitimately looked the age he was: just a worried, teenage boy uncertain of whether to enter.

“Are they open yet?” Yami no Yugi asked, glancing through the windows.  It looked dark inside.

Seto checked his watch.

“Her shift was supposed to start five minutes ago,” he muttered.

And then, his face tightening, the young man pushed his way in.

The sound of the entry bell still sent a small shudder down Yami no Yugi's spine.  But the door was unlocked, so that was a good sign.

They were greeted, not by Kisara or even Dominic, but by an older looking man with dark hair flecked with gray and deep lines around his eyes and mouth.  There was a familiarity about the shape of his face, however, and Yami no Yugi guessed that this must be Dominic's father.  This was supposed to be a family owned shop, after all.

“Oh, good morning, good morning,” the man said, in the middle of hefting some pots onto the counter.  “My apologies for the lights being out....getting a bit of a late start today.  Specially since my son said he had something urgent to attend to, and he ran off.  I'm a little short-handed at the moment.”

The man laughed a bit breathily.

“Can I help you two young men with anything?”

“Actually, we were wondering if you've seen Kisara,” Yami no Yugi said.

The man blinked.

“I'm sorry?”

“Kisara,” Seto cut in, with more force than necessary.  “One of your employees.  You hired her a few weeks ago.  She was supposed to be here five minutes ago for her shift—she's missing and I want to know if you know where she is.”

The man didn't say anything for a moment, staring at Seto with his mouth slightly open with an unspoken question.  Then his brow wrinkled and he shook his head slowly.

“I'm very sorry, young man,” he said.  “But I have no idea who you're talking about.”

It was like a punch in the gut—even Yami no Yugi felt the pain.  It was nothing compared to the look of horror that broke briefly through Seto's mask.

“I would love to have some extra help around here, but no one has applied, I'm afraid.  I'm very sorry I'm not more help.”

Seto's mouth was moving slowly, silently, saying something that Yami no Yugi wasn't able to catch.

“Kaiba,” he started.

It was too late—Kaiba was turning away and walking as quickly as he could back out into the cold.  Yami no Yugi hesitated just long enough to send the man a quick 'thank you, sorry', before running back after Seto.

“Kaiba!  Kaiba!  Wait!”

To Yami no Yugi's surprise, he did.  The young CEO stopped dead in the snow, fists clenched at his sides, huge puffs of steam exploding from his lips as he breathed in and out, too heavily.

“Kaiba,” Yami no Yugi said again.  “Listen to me, you have to breathe.  This isn't—”

“If this is supposed to be a joke it damn well isn't funny!” Seto snapped.  He flung his head back as though to shout at the sky and whatever was behind the canopy of thick white clouds.  “You hear me!  This isn't fucking funny!”

Yami no Yugi had never seen Seto like this.  Never heard him swear so profusely before, seen him shaking slightly with rage and terror and uncertainty and a million and one feelings that shook the young man through his very core, so badly that he could barely stand straight.

He had never seen his rival look so... _ broken _ .

“Kaiba,” he said, quietly, gently.  Trying to calm him down.  He put a hand on his shoulder.

To his rival's credit, he did not shrug away from the touch—at least, not right away.

But after a brief moment of silence in which he stared at the ground, his bangs hanging dark over his eyes, he stepped away.

“We have to keep looking,” he said.  “It was probably...a mistake.”

“That's it,” Yami no Yugi said.  “That's the spirit.”

Seto didn't even meet Yami no Yugi's eyes as he started to stalk back down the road.  There was no room in him for gratitude.  At least, not right now.

*    *    *

It seemed as though the snow just didn't want to leave.  The cold was ever deeper, and Yami no Yugi wondered just how long a cold spell like this could last.  He had thought he had heard on the radio earlier that it was supposed to get warmer again before Christmas, but it certainly didn't look like it.  How on earth could one town get so much snow?  Was this normal for England?  He somehow didn't think so.

The thoughts rattled around in his mind as he and Seto continued almost aimlessly down the sidewalk.  A few flakes were starting to spiral down onto the mostly cleared sidewalks.

Another thing occurred to Yami no Yugi.  It seemed to have snowed almost every single day that they had been here...and yet the drifts never seemed to get much bigger than they were now.  And how many days in a row had the sky been such a uniform gray?  Sure, it was December...

But there was this feeling of stagnation in the air.  Like...everything was frozen.

“We should meet back up with the others, see what they've found out,” Yami no Yugi suggested.

Seto only grunted, hands in fists at his sides.

Yami no Yugi frowned.  His eyes turned back to the world around him and wondered at how there wasn't even any breeze.

“Yami!”

Yami paused and looked over his shoulder.  There was Mana, bolting through the snow towards him, her cheeks dark with exertion and eyes wide with worry.

“Have you found her yet?” she blurted.  “Has she texted?  Anything?  Oh, please tell me you found her!”

“No, nothing yet,” Yami no Yugi said, although he hated to see the terror break across her face as he said it.  “It's okay, Mana, we're going to find her.”

Mana had to paused and gasp for air for a moment.

“Right, right, right,” she mumbled to herself.  “We'll find her.  It's okay.”

She looked really dizzy, and Yami no Yugi shot out a hand to steady her.

“Mana?  Hold on, just breathe.  It's okay.  She's fine, I promise.  We'll find her.”

She seemed to lean into his touch, as though it were something secure to latch onto, and nodded with her eyes closed.  She kept shaking her head, still mumbling to herself in an attempt to keep herself calm.  Seto had stopped a few feet away and seemed to be waiting for them, arms crossed tightly and a deepening scowl on his face.  Yami no Yugi put his other hand on Mana's other shoulder.

“You have to breathe, Mana,” he said.  “Breathe with me, okay?  In....out.”

Mana sucked in a breath at his prompting and let it out into a too fast rush.  She swallowed.  What she muttered next caused Yami no Yugi to hesitate for a moment.

_ “Why is it so quiet?” _ she whispered.

It was quiet.  Eerily so.  It may have been a bitterly cold day, but where were all the people?  There was no one on the streets, all of the stores looked pretty much empty.  Sure, there were one or two heavily bundled people making their quick way down the sidewalk on the other side of the street, but there should be  _ more _ .  This wasn't the tiniest town in the world.  There should be some traffic on the roads, but the intersection was empty, street light hanging limply without even the tiniest breeze to stir it.

Everything was cold, still, and bare.  Just snow, sparkling across the ground.  It didn't look quite as fantasy-like as it had before.  Just...cold.  And emotionless.  Yami shuddered a bit.

“It's fine.  Everyone's probably just keeping out of the cold,” he said.  “It's okay, Mana.”

She still wouldn't open her eyes, her shoulders shaking under his hands.

He ran his tongue over dry, chapped lips.

“I'm going to text Anzu, see what's going on,” he said.  “We should try to touch base with everyone.”

He fumbled for the cell phone in his pocket.  Then he heard the tingling sound of a door opening and the sound of chatter and laughter as a group came out of a shop somewhere in front of them.  The sound was jarring enough among the silence that he had to look up. Jonouchi, Honda, Ryo, and Dominic were just exiting the shop, conversation flowing between them.  Jonouchi was holding a shopping bag over his shoulder with a lazy finger.

“Oh!” Yami no Yugi said. A weight seemed to drop off his shoulders at the familiar faces, and he could feel Mana relax.  He turned to face the group.  “There you are; I was just going to text you guys.”

“Oh, hey, Yug,” Jonouchi said, flashing a grin.  “What are you doing this way?”

He glanced at Seto as he said this, the unsaid “and with Kaiba of all people” hanging silently off the edge of his sentence.  Yami no Yugi frowned.

“I should ask you that.  What are you all doing?”

“Souvenirs,” Jonouchi said, jiggling the bag.  “I had to get something for Shizuka.”

“Now?” said Yami no Yugi.  He could hardly believe it.  He could almost feel the tension rising off of Seto beside him like a haze of smoke.  Mana had tensed up again, too.  “Is this really the time?”

“Huh?  Why wouldn't it be the time?  Not like we have anywhere to be.”

“What about Kisara?” Mana blurted.  “Aren't we supposed to be looking for her??”

Jonouchi blinked.  He glanced up at Honda, mouth open slightly with confusion.  Honda shrugged.  Ryo's brow furrowed, and Dominic frowned slightly.

“Kisara?” Dominic said.

“Who's that?” Jonouchi said, frowning at Yami no Yugi again.

An icy hand clamped down on Yami no Yugi's heart.  But before he could say anything, Seto exploded.  He practically flew forward, grabbing Jonouchi by the collar and yanking him across the ground.  Mana half screamed.  The bag flew out of Jonouchi's hands and Ryo snatched it from the air.

“You stupid mutt, this isn't a fucking  _ joke _ !”

“Oy!   _ Oy _ !” Jonouchi said.  “What the  _ hell? _ ”

The blond's face contorted into anger and he grabbed at Seto's hands to pry him off his collar.  They stumbled back from each other as Jonouchi shoved him away.  But Jonouchi's hands were already half raised and rolled into fists, and Seto was already instinctively sliding his feet into a judo position.  Honda grabbed Jonouchi by the shoulders.

“What the hell's gotten into you?” Jonouchi shouted, pulling against Honda.

“Kaiba, stop!” Yami no Yugi shouted.

He grabbed Seto by the shoulder and yanked him back.  Seto looked so red in the face, so angry, his hands clenching and unclenching like he was imagining putting his fingers around Jonouchi neck.

Ryo was babbling something, waving his hands back and forth with Jonouchi's bag crinkling in his grip.  Dominic had jumped a few steps back, eyes wide and palms out as though to push the fight away from him.  Mana grabbed at Yami no Yugi's other arm.  Her fingers were so tight that he was almost starting to lose feeling.

“What the actual hell!” Jonouchi shouted.  “What are you flipping out about?”

“You—” Seto started.

“What's going  _ on _ ?” 

Anzu raced into view, practically skidding across the ice as she came to stand in between Seto and Jonouchi.  She raised up her hands, palms facing each one of them.  Dawn and Cadence were right on her heels, Dawn green eyes wide and a scowl on Cadence's face.

“What the heck is happening?  What are you two  _ doing _ ?” Anzu cried.

She looked back and forth between the two red-faced boys, her glare demanding an answer.

Jonouchi was the first to shrug off Honda's grip, shaking his head with a confused sort of scowl.

“I don't have a clue,” he said.  “He attacked first.”

“Kaiba,” Yami no Yugi said.  “You have to calm  _ down. _ ”

He felt the shudder run through Seto, but the young man relaxed.  Or rather, it was as though someone had cut some kind of string, letting him collapse slightly.  Yami no Yugi released the other boy's arm.  Seto made no move towards Jonouchi or Anzu or anyone.  He just glared down at Anzu for a moment.

“Let me guess,” he said through his teeth.  “You forgot Kisara too.”

Anzu blinked, taken aback for a moment.  Her hands drifted back down to her sides.

“...who?” she said tentatively.

Seto said nothing.  He stared down at Anzu for a moment.  Then he shook his head, swore under his breath, and turned on his heel.

“Kaiba,” Yami no Yugi started.

But there was no turning him around.  His rival just walked away, out of voice's reach, and no one had the will or the heart to follow him, it seemed.

Mana was still gripping onto Yami no Yugi's arm with all her strength.  He put his free hand on top of hers, trying to send some kind of soothing vibration to her.  Her face had drained of some of its color and she looked like she was going to pass out.

“Why?” she whispered, staring wide-eyed at the group.  “Why don't you remember?”

“Mana?” Anzu said, brows coming together with worry.  “Are you okay?”

“What the hell just happened?” Jonouchi said.  “Yugi, do you have any clue what's going on?”

Yami no Yugi could feel the burn of Cadence's eyes on him.  He didn't have to look at her to know what kind of stare she was sending his way, or the feelings that were behind it.   _ It's you.  It's your fault.  All of this is  _ your  _ fault, and you know it.   _ He squeezed Mana's hand, feeling her bury her face into his shoulder and let out a tiny, strangled sob.

“No,” he whispered.  “I wish I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> azalea = take care of yourself for me


	16. A Dangerous Monkshood

Yugi couldn't sleep.  And thus, that meant that Yami no Yugi was kept from his subconscious floating as well.

Yami no Yugi watched anxiously as his partner paced the motel hallway.  Back and forth, back and forth.  He was going to wear a rut into the carpet.

_ “Partner,” _ he said.   _ “You need to sleep.” _

“I can't,” Yugi said.  “I just...can't.”

_ “Partner.” _

Yugi made a frustrated noise and stopped pacing.

“It doesn't make any sense,” he said.  “How could they suddenly just forget?  She was real!  She was with all of us!  I don't...I don't understand!  What kind of place is this?”

The boy was actually shaking.  Yami no Yugi reached out, his hand a mere projection of thought, and tried to squeeze Yugi's shoulder.

_ “I know.” _

He did.  He did understand.  Everything about this place was starting to become less of a cheerful dream and more of an eerie nightmare.  There was something about everything that he couldn't put his finger on.  The constant snowing that never seemed to cause extra piling.  The strange way that there never seemed to be any people around.  The monster that Cadence had been fighting.  Cadence and Dawn and their strange animosity.  Dawn herself, claiming to be the Dark Magician Girl.

And Kisara.  The mysterious, amnesiac girl who had captured Kaiba's attention so quickly, so easily, and then vanished as though she had never existed.

Yugi pulled out his phone and flipped it open.  He flicked through old text messages, old pictures.

_ “Partner...we've done this already.  You'll only make yourself worse.” _

But Yugi didn't seem to be able to stop himself.

“Nothing,” he whispered.  “There's no mention of Kisara in my phone.  And the photo...the photo from the dance...”

Yami no Yugi looked down at the floor.  That picture hung in his head, haunting him.  Where once there had been an image of the whole group—him and Mana squished in the middle, Dominic tentatively putting his hand on Cadence's shoulder on the right, Dawn pulling an awkward Kisara in on the left—Kisara was missing.  Instead there was only Dawn in the left corner, making a peace sign.

It didn't make any sense.

“Dawn and Cadence know what's going on.  I'm sure they do,” Yugi said.  “The way that Dawn looked after Kaiba and Jonouchi were fighting...I think she knows.”

_ “Yes, but why hasn't she told us?  She seems to be friendly and on our side.  That is, if there are sides to be taken.” _

He paused.

_ “And if she really is the Dark Magician Girl...she's someone that we can trust.” _

“I know...but then...why?  Why not tell us what's going on?”

Yami no Yugi didn't have an answer for that.

The shuffle of sneakers across carpet caught his attention.  He and Yugi glanced up from their respective reveries.  After a few seconds, Ryo appeared from around the corner.  He looked tired, rubbing his eye with one finger.

“Yugi-kun?  Are you still awake?” he said.

“Oh...yes, sorry,” Yugi said.  “Did I wake you?”

“No...I was just... _ curious _ ...”

And on that last word, Ryo's voice seemed to sharpen and deepen and instantly, Yami no Yugi was spiritually shoving Yugi behind him, jumping into control as Ryo's peridot green eyes flickered to a deep, malevolent violet.

“You,” Yami no Yugi hissed.  “How long have you been here?”

“Oh.  I'm always here, pharaoh, just below the surface, as always...” Yami no Bakura said, smiling his sharp grin reminiscent of a shark.  “But I suppose you mean how long I've been active.  Not long, don't worry your precious royal head.  I've only just decided to, breach the waters, as it were.”

The ancient spirit in control of Ryo's body rested lazily against the wall, folding his arms—a counterpoint to Yami no Yugi's tense, battle-ready stance.

“Oh, don't look at me like you're ready to put my head on a spike,” Bakura said, rolling his eyes.  “I'm not planning on biting you.  Yet.”

“What do you want?” Yami no Yugi asked.

Bakura was unperturbed by Yami no Yugi's intensity.  He didn't answer right away, studying his fingernails for a moment.

“What do I want?” he said, considering.  “Hm.  You know, I haven't decided yet.”

He smiled a bare-toothed smile at Yami no Yugi that only sent another shiver down the pharaoh's spine.

“Ah, actually, I'd appreciate if you could tell me what kind of magic is in place, if you know,” Bakura said.  “It's quite fascinating, really.  Even my own precious host has forgotten about the dragon bitch.”

Yami no Yugi blinked.

“What?  What are you talking about?”

“Oh, that's right, I had forgotten that you were an amnesiac,” Bakura said, smile widening.  “But I didn't think you were stupid, too.  Really, you saw the girl holding the Blue Eyes White Dragon and it didn't occur to you for a moment what she might be?”

Yami no Yugi hesitated.

“Wait—you're talking about—”

“Kisara, yes, keep up, pharaoh,” Bakura said.  “Perhaps you know more about her disappearance that you would like to share?”

Yami no Yugi glowered at the other spirit.

“If I knew anything more about her, I wouldn't tell  _ you _ ,” he said.

“Oh come now, pharaoh, I have no quarrel with the girl.  Perhaps I'd like to help you retrieve her.”

_ “Yeah right,”  _ Yugi muttered.

“And for that matter, why do  _ you _ remember?” Yami no Yugi said.

Bakura considered this for a moment, his smile actually fading away.

“That,” he said.  “Is a fascinating question.  Even my own host has forgotten.  Curious, really.  I'm surprised yours remembers.”

“Bakura—”

“I would suppose, considering those that have the memories remaining, it has something to do with you and I being old souls.  Dear Seto is one as well.  And your precious host is connected to you with the unifying power of the Puzzle, which perhaps overcomes his disability, being a younger soul.”

“You're saying that only those of us from Egypt are the ones that can remember Kisara,” Yami no Yugi said.

Bakura smirked, as though he were talking to a child.

“That is  _ exactly _ what I'm saying.  How incredibly astute of you.”

It was taking all of Yami no Yugi's strength to not snap into attack mode at Bakura.

“It's not hard to understand why,” Bakura said.  “You know, dear pharaoh, there is a theory that we never really  _ learn _ anything, we simply...recollect knowledge from the past.  Meeting her now is only a recollection of the first meeting, hm?”

“We met...Kisara was from ancient Egypt??”

And now Yami no Yugi's mind was reeling.  Old souls remembered Kisara.  Bakura, Seto, and himself remembered Kisara—they had all been there in ancient Egypt before, and if Kisara had been there too, then maybe that made sense.  But wait—Mana, Cadence, and Dawn also remembered.  Dawn had claimed to be the Dark Magician Girl, so perhaps that made sense, but Cadence and—

“What about Mana?” he breathed, unconscious of his own words.

And then he realized what he was saying and wished he could snatch the words back, because Bakura's grin was widening slowly, eyes fixed on Yami no Yugi's.

“What about her indeed...” he whispered.

Yami no Yugi's fists clenched.

“I don't know what you're after, but you leave her out of this, Bakura.”

“Please, you think the worst of me all the time.”

He pushed off from the wall and made to walk back around the corner.  He paused, however, just before disappearing.

“Although...in a place like this...it might only be a matter of time before she follows Kisara, hm?”

And before Yami no Yugi could launch himself across the distance, to grab Bakura and make him explain everything he knew about this place, everything he knew about Kisara, about Mana, the ancient spirit had disappeared around the corner, and was out of reach.

Yami no Yugi lingered there for a long, long moment.  Yugi appeared at his side, looking up at his other self, chewing on his lip.

_ “Other me?” _ he whispered.

_ It might only be a matter of time before she follows Kisara. _

Yami no Yugi's mouth was dry.

**. . .**

Yugi got absolutely no sleep that night.  Yami no Yugi didn't have the energy to plead with him to do so, either.  After several hours of tossing and turning and muffled swearing and messing around with his phone, Yugi threw the covers off of him and stalked over to the closet, ripping a jacket over his pajama shirt and changing into a pair of jeans.

As he slid into his sneakers, Yami no Yugi peered out from the Puzzle.

_ “...Yugi?” _ he said.

Yugi didn't answer.  He didn't even glance over his shoulder at the sound of Jonouchi stirring from the foldout bed, slipping out into the hallway without a sound.

“ _ Yugi, where are we going? _ ”

“To find some answers,” Yugi said.

Yami no Yugi rarely heard such fire in his partner's voice.  It wasn't often that Yugi took the initiative on things like this, and when he did, Yami no Yugi knew better than to try and stop him.  There was no stopping his partner when he was on a mission.  So the ancient spirit simply drew back, and followed along from within the Puzzle, waiting to see where Yugi would ago.

It was another cold, gloomy day.  It felt like the exact same day that they had been going through for the past three weeks.  The snow remained at the same height.  It didn't have the same sparkling allure that it used to.  It just felt cold and wet and tired, and Yami no Yugi didn't want to have anything to do with it.  Even from within the Puzzle he could sense Yugi's shiver against the cold, breath staining the air in front of him.

Yami no Yugi realized where they were headed about five minutes into the walk.  The only house they knew in this part of town was the Greys' house.  Yugi was going straight to Dawn, it seemed.

“ _ Yugi, she probably won't be awake. _ ”

“I don't care.  We'll talk to Darcy, then.  Maybe he knows something.”

“ _ Yugi... _ ”

Yugi didn't stop, although his fists were trembling at his sides.

“I just...I can't do this.  I can't do this...not knowing what's happening...someone has to know.  Someone has to.”

Yami no Yugi fell silent.  He just...didn't have anything else he knew how to say.

They approached the Greys' house, its shape dark against the rising sun.  Yugi shuffled through the barely shoveled snow on the path and then up the porch steps.  He hesitated before knocking on the door, fist hovering over the wood.  When he did knock, it was the lightest, most tentative sound that Yami no Yugi had ever heard.  That wasn't going to wake up Darcy, much less Dawn.  If by some miracle they were already awake at this hour, even then they probably wouldn't have heard that—

The door opened.

Yugi actually jumped.  His face went beet red and all of the conviction and confidence from before seemed to just melt from his face.  Darcy appeared in the doorway, his dark brown hair not in a ponytail today but spreading down across his shoulders instead.  Once again, Yami no Yugi was struck by the familiarity of his face, as though he knew the man but...something was wrong, off.  

Darcy half smiled.

“Good morning, Yugi,” he said.

“G-good morning,” Yugi squeaked.  He swallowed and recollected himself.  “I'm sorry for coming so early...”

“It's not a problem.  You're always welcome here.  Would you like to come in?”

“Um, that's okay, I just needed...is Dawn in?”

Darcy frowned slightly.

“I'm afraid not.  She left quite early this morning.  Something urgent with a friend, she said.”

“Dawn did?” Yugi said, incredulous.  “She woke up this early?”

“Yes, it is a bit out of character for her, isn't it,” Darcy said with a soft laugh.  “I think she went towards the park.  You should be able to find her that way.”

“T-thanks,” Yugi said.  “Um...sorry to bother you.”

Darcy shook his head.

“You could never bother me.  Good luck.”

And with that, Darcy inclined his head in almost a bow, and closed the door gently.

Something about the way he moved right then struck Yami no Yugi.  He stared at the wood for a few moments.  Had he...seen that gesture before?  The way that the hair hung loosely around the man's face as he bowed himself out?  It felt far too familiar.

Yugi, too, hesitated for a moment.  Then he turned on his heel and headed for the park.  Nothing about the exchange seemed to dampen his need to find the truth.

“ _ What will you ask her when you find her? _ ” Yami no Yugi asked.

“I'm going to ask who Kisara is.  If she remembers...if what Bakura said is true...then somehow, Dawn is related to ancient Egypt, and she seems to know it.  If she really is the Dark Magician Girl...that might have something to do with it.”

“ _ And Mana and Cadence? _ ”

“I...don't know.”

His feet scuffled across the ground, a quiet falling over the pair for a few moments.

“I think...Mana doesn't understand what's going on any more than we do,” Yugi said.  “And whoever Cadence is...she's not going to tell us anything.  Dawn is our only option if we want to get the truth.”

Yami no Yugi nodded.  He couldn't fault Yugi's logic.  Still, he had to wonder if Dawn would be so forthcoming with the answers they needed.  He stared up at the sky as he floated behind Yugi.  So thick and gray.  It felt like it was coming closer, lower, like it was sinking down on top of them.  He sighed.  Nothing felt right anymore.

With only Darcy's lead, Yugi headed for the park.  Yami no Yugi could feel his partner's unease, and Yami no Yugi would be lying if he said he wasn't experiencing it too.  The park was where they had found Kisara the first time, and where Yami no Yugi had experienced the strangeness of the bell sound and the mysterious flowers.  It was also where they had met Cadence fighting that monster.  What could Dawn be doing there?

The bell chimed again.

Yugi froze in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Did—did you hear that?” Yugi said.

“ _ Yes _ ,” Yami no Yugi said.  “ _ It's the same sound as before. _ ”

Yugi only hesitated a second longer.  Then he tore off down the sidewalk.  The boy skidded across the ice, arms wheeling as they approached the park.

“ _ Yugi, watch out! _ ”

Yami no Yugi flipped back into control and managed to angle himself to miss the light post they had been skidding towards.  He instead dropped to his knees in the snow, hands punching through the top layer of ice to prevent his face from going into it.

“You need to slow down, partner,” Yami no Yugi muttered.

“ _ Sorry _ ,” Yugi said.  “ _ But other me, look! _ ”

Yami no Yugi looked up.

There was Dawn.

The girl stood with her back to them in the middle of the park.  A staff hung loosely from her fingers—Yami no Yugi swore softly under his breath.  He knew that staff.  There was no question about it: that was the Dark Magician Girl's staff.

Yami no Yugi pushed to his feet, dusting the snow off of his coat.  There wasn't much he could do about the cold wetness seeping through to his knees.  He shuddered and hugged himself.  The cold felt much worse than usual.

“How do you handle this?” Yami no Yugi muttered at Yugi.

Yugi just shrugged.

“ _ Come on, _ ” he said.   _ “Let's go talk to Dawn.  We  _ have _ to know what's going on.” _

Yami no Yugi had to hesitate.  He stared at the distant form of Dawn, her blond hair spilling over her back, the way she was tapping her foot and twisting the staff between her fingers absently.  What was she doing out here, anyway?

“ _ Other me, come on. _ ”

Yami no Yugi sighed.  Yugi was right.  He often was.  They had to to do something—they  _ had _ to know what had happened, and it seems that Dawn was their best bet.  He took a step into the snow, making a soft crunching sound.

The shadows moved.

Yami no Yugi swore as something big and warped bubbled up from the shadows beneath some of the park trees.  It fought its way upwards like a transparent shadow—and shot straight for Dawn.

“Dawn, watch out!” he shouted, starting forward.

But Dawn was already moving.

With the grace of a dancer, she flowed around around the attack.  The shadow hit the ground and pooled there for a moment before bubbling upwards again into a pillar.  Dawn spun to meet it.  Her staff twirled in her fingers in a blur—light flared from its tip.

“Back,” she said softly.  “Back.  It's okay.  Calm down.”

The warping shadow pillar hesitated.  It looked out of place in the day time, like a stain on the air.  It hurt Yami no Yugi's head to look at it—it was  _ wrong _ , everything about it was wrong and bad and made him feel as though he were going to throw up.  He stumbled back a few feet, head spinning.  He couldn't take his eyes away from the shadow.

Dawn continued spinning her staff, advancing slowly.

“Sh,” she kept murmuring.  “Shhhhh.  It's just a bad dream.  Shhhh.”

Was she...talking to it?  The pillar shifted slightly.  For a moment, it seemed to flicker into a vaguely human form, something...familiar...?

Yami no Yugi couldn't tear his eyes away even as the bile started to rise in his throat.  He felt so dizzy that the world was starting to blur and fade.  Yugi was screaming at him in his head, telling him to let him take control, that this thing was doing something to him, but Yami no Yugi couldn't have switched with Yugi if had tried.  He felt stuck in place, both in mind and body, his mouth going dry as his knees gave out under him and he dropped to the ground, crunching through the snow.

It was that sound that caused Dawn to finally notice his presence, her eyes flicking over her shoulder.  Her face went white.

“No!” she shouted—too late.

The pillar of shadows exploded towards him.  In seconds, Yami no Yugi's vision went entirely black.  He felt as though a thick mist had suddenly enveloped him.

_ Breathe.  I have to breathe _ , he thought desperately.

But he couldn't—when he tried to inhale he merely choked, as though some slime had slid down his throat.

He couldn't hear Yugi anymore.  He couldn't  _ feel _ Yugi anymore!  What was happening to him?

And then pain.  Pain pain pain pain pain pain.  Coursing through him, ripping his soul to pieces, causing his knees to buckle and his torso to collapse.  He was standing, it was hot, there was heat radiating up from the ground around him even though the sky was pitch black.  A scream echoed in his head and then he realized that it was him— _ he  _ was screaming,  _ he _ was the one making that sound and he couldn't stop it, because there was this giant shadow looming hundreds of feet over him and screeching as light in arcane symbols burned around it and he was dying dying dying everything was ending, someone was screaming his name but for some reason the word slipped off of his brain like oil and he couldn't recognize it—

“Yami!   _ Yami! _ ”

Yami no Yugi gasped for breath.  Cold air flooded into his lungs and he coughed.  The motion wracked his whole body, his spine arching with the pain of the sudden freezing cold compared to the heat he had just been experiencing.  He was on the ground, he realized.  He was on the ground and there was snow in his hair and his hands were dusted with flakes and it was cold.  It was so cold.  So, so, so cold, he could barely think.

“Yami, sh, sh, it's okay, breathe, slowly, don't gasp for it, follow my count, okay?  In.....out.   In.....out.”

Yami no Yugi could barely see.  His vision was blurring in and out.  He grasped for the voice with his brain, it was the only thing that made sense right now.

“ _ Other me!  Other me!” _

He could hear Yugi screaming in his head, fear causing the boy's voice to tremble and crack.  Yami no Yugi could not get his voice to work, so he reached out with his mind instead.

“ _ Partner...? _ ”

Yugi's voice gave a dry sob.

“ _ Oh thank god!  You—you were gone, I couldn't sense you, but I couldn't get out of the Puzzle either and—oh you're okay.  You're okay.  You're okay.  Please tell me you're okay. _ ”

“ _ I...I think...so... _ ”

“Keep breathing.  Keeeeep breathing.  In....out.  In....out.  You're okay.”

“What...was...that...?”

He squinted up into the sky.  It seemed too bright, now, compared to that dark sky he had seen in his head.  Or had he actually been there?  It had felt so real, so...painful...

He felt bile rising up in his throat as he remembered the sensation of  _ dying _ .  His stomach heaved and he started to choke.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no!”

Cool fingers touched his face.  A mumble under her breath, a tingly spark dancing across his skin, and the sickness passed.  He coughed again, blinking.  Trying to see.

Dawn was sitting over him, her cheeks flushed with cold and nerves.

“Are you with me?  Say something.  Just...like, say what your name is?”

Yami coughed one more time, then swallowed.  His saliva tasted disgusting, as though he had already thrown up in his mouth.

“I'm...Mutou Yami,” he managed to say.

Dawn breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank the gods.  Can you sit up?  How do you feel?”

“Dizzy.  I feel...dizzy.”

“Okay, that's natural.  It'll pass in a few seconds.  You feel okay?”

He nodded as he slowly sat up, Dawn's hand on his back for support.  The snow crunched underneath him and he was reminded of the cold seeping through his pants.

“I...Dawn, what...what happened?”

“You passed out...um, are you diabetic?”

Yami no Yugi half glared at her, but he didn't have the motivation.

“Dawn, I know what I saw,” he said.  “That thing attacked me and...made me see things.  What was that thing?”

Dawn bit her lip.  Her eyes dropped to the ground.

“Dawn.  Please don't hide this from me. I saw Cadence fighting one of those things too.  What was it?”

She sighed, a tiny, resigned sound.

“It was...just a nightmare,” she said.  “That's all.”

“Dawn.”

“I'm going to go get you some water.  Wait for me on the bench, okay?  Don't move around too much.”

She shot up to her feet and crunched away through the snow towards the park official's building, where a vending machine sat.  Yami no Yugi watched her go, a growing frustration in his chest.  Was there no end to the secrets that were being kept from him?  Even Dawn wasn't willing to talk to him!

“ _ Other me, you really need to just rest for now, _ ” Yugi begged him.  “ _ I want to know what happened too, but please, don't push yourself. _ ”

Yami no Yugi breathed out, still frustrated.  But he could hear the tremble in his partner's voice and he didn't want to make Yugi feel any worse.  So, without arguing, he carefully pushed himself to his feet and walked the few feet to the bench, where he sat down and waited impatiently for Dawn to come back.

His mind turned in circles.  The nightmare.  The shadow creature.  Dawn with the magic staff, facing down the creature.  The difference between her approach, calmly talking to the thing, while Cadence had simply destroyed it.  Did this have something to do with the conversation he had overheard in the bathroom just a few weeks ago?  Dawn and Cadence were a part of something bigger, something that enveloped this entire town, and they were hiding the truth from him.  Kisara was somehow involved.

Mana was somehow involved.

His pocket buzzed.  He actually jumped at the sensation, a thrill of shock fluttering through him.  A blush crossed his face afterward, and he wriggled the phone of his pocket and flipped it open.

It was a text from Mana.

_ Hey where r u? Didn't find u at motel _

He realized then that he had a multitude of messages from everyone about where he disappeared to, at least five alone from Anzu, and he grimaced.

“Partner you should have sent out a blanket text or something,” he muttered, flipping to the message app and typing out a quick “I'm fine just went for a walk sorry for worrying you” message.

He could feel his partner blushing in the back of his head.

“ _ I was distracted this morning _ ...” he said.

Yami no Yugi just half-smiled.  At least...it was good to know that everyone cared.  That was right, they weren't alone in...whatever this was.  Sure, everyone had forgotten but if they talked it out with their friends, the others were sure to believe them and want to help, even if they couldn't remember Kisara.

“We should have done that first, huh?” Yami no Yugi said.

“ _ Yeah... _ ” Yugi said sheepishly. “ _ We'll explain everything when we get back, I guess... _ ”

Yami no Yugi nodded and turned back to the only message he hadn't yet responded to: the one from Mana.

Her name glowed on the tiny screen.  Pulsing slightly like a faint heartbeat.  Sweet, kind, Mana, with her constant smile and her desire to make everyone smile, who had so cheerfully greeted him, who was so, so scared about Kisara.

He realized with a rush that he needed her here, right now.

_ I'm at the park.  Meet me there? _

Less than two seconds after he had sent the message, the phone buzzed in his hand again.

_ B right there. _

Warmth blossomed in his chest at those three little words.  He sighed and leaned back against the bench, hand resting in his lap with the phone and eyes closed.  It was still cold, but all of a sudden, he barely felt it.

“ _ Hey, other me...don't you think Dawn is taking a while? _ ”

Yami no Yugi opened his eyes.  He frowned.  That was true...the vending machine was within eye shot so it shouldn't be taking her this long...

He glanced up towards the park building.  There was Dawn, standing by the vending machine and—oh, Ryo?  What was he doing here?  The two appeared to be deep in conversation.  Dawn shrugged at a question and half smiled.  Ryo rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit embarrassed.  Yami no Yugi wondered what they were talking about.

Dawn then pointed over to where Yami no Yugi was sitting, and Ryo looked over.  The white haired boy smiled and waved, looking relieved.

“You've worried Anzu sick,” he called across the park.

Yami no Yugi ducked his head sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he called back.

Ryo just shook his head and smiled.  He turned back to his conversation with Dawn.

And then something seemed to change.

Dawn's smile fell, her brows came together.  Ryo's smile also seemed to fade away, a shadow passing over his face.  Yami no Yugi knew what had happened even before Dawn whipped the water bottle at Ryo's face.

Yami no Bakura ducked easily under the attack and advanced on Dawn.  Yami no Yugi leapt to his feet and bolted across the snow.

“Get away from her!” he shouted.

“Yami, stay back, you're not feeling well yet!” Dawn said.

It was true, as a wave of nausea suddenly washed over him and he stumbled to a stop, his vision blurring as dizziness overtook him for a second.  He heard Bakura laugh, saw a quick blast of light in the corner of his vision.

“Piss off!” said Dawn.

Yami no Yugi grit his teeth and started forward again.  He could see Dawn holding Bakura back with her staff—when had she gotten that out?  Bakura was just grinning at her, looking completely unperturbed by the weapon pointed at his chest.

“Go ahead,” he said.  “Ryo will feel it later, not me.”

Dawn's arm was trembling.

Yami no Yugi reached her then, planting himself at her side.  His Puzzle warmed on his chest, reacting with the pale glow of the Millennium Ring under Ryo's shirt.

For a moment, it was a standoff.  Dawn and Yami no Yugi staring down the darkly smiling Bakura.

Finally, however, Bakura just smirked, and stepped back.

“I know when the cards are stacked against me,” he said lightly, seeming far too amused by his situation, far too cheerful when he was admitting that he was outnumbered.  “I'll back down...for now.”

He smiled slowly.

“But mark my words, dear magician, I  _ will _ find this place's secrets, no matter what I have to do to for them.  I am a thief after all...you can't hide things from me for long.” 

Dawn leaped forward, light sparking at the tip of her staff, but Yami no Yugi grabbed her arm.

“Wait, that's  _ Ryo's _ body, Dawn!”

Bakura just laughed, and disappeared behind the park building.  It wasn't long before his footsteps disappeared entirely.

Dawn was shaking under Yami no Yugi's grip.

“I hate him,” Dawn whispered.  “I hate him, I hate him, I hate him.”

“Dawn,” Yami no Yugi said.  “Do you...know him?”

Dawn's face seemed to shut down.  She stepped back, pulling herself out of Yami no Yugi's grip.  He didn't resist, letting his arm drop back to his side.

“Dawn,” he insisted.  “You have to trust me.  You have to talk to me.”

“I  _ do _ trust you,” Dawn said.  “But...Yami, I...I  _ can't. _  Not yet.  I can't—I just can't.  You don't understand.”

“And I want to,” Yami no Yugi said, with perhaps a bit more force than necessary.  “Please, Dawn, I—I need to know what's going on.  What was Yami no Bakura here for?”

Dawn dropped her eyes to the ground.

“He wanted to know what I know about Kisara.  That's all.”

“And what  _ do _ you know?”

Dawn wouldn't meet his eyes.  Yami no Yugi's hands rolled up into fists, and then relaxed.

“Dawn,” he said.  Pleading.  “Please.”

She didn't respond.  Didn't lift her head.  They just stood there on the pavement, silence wrapping its soft tendrils around them.  Yami no Yugi felt like he was choking again, but this time, it was on frustration.  Why?  Why couldn't she just...tell him?  If something bad was happening, he wanted to know.  He  _ had _ to know.  He—

“Yami!”

Yami no Yugi looked up with surprise, but no sooner had he caught sight of Mana than she was throwing her arms around him and causing him to stumble back a few feet.

“Oh thank goodness I found you I had no idea where you were and I didn't know what was happening and you weren't responding and no one knew what happened to you and—”

The girl kept babbling into his chest, her arms so tight around him that it was actually hard to breathe.  Oh, right—he had forgotten in all the chaos that Mana was on her way.

“—and I was so scared that you were just gone too and I don't think I could handle you disappearing and I just—”

She was trembling, he realized suddenly.  She had been—she still  _ was  _ so scared.  Kisara's disappearance had affected her badly...

He slid his arms around her back, sighing into her hair.  She was warm against him.  For a moment, he felt guilty.  His mind wandered back to his thoughts from recently, how this wasn't his body, he can't hold her like he wanted to because it wasn't fair to Yugi...

But, he thought, perhaps just this instance it was okay.  She needed him, and she needed to be held.  It was all right.  Just this once.

“I'm sorry,” he said.  “I wasn't thinking.”

“You're a stupid head,” Mana said, sniffling.  “But I'm glad you're okay.”

She made no move to break away from him, her face buried in his chest.  Yami no Yugi glanced over her head to Dawn, who was still standing there.

“Dawn,” he started.

She shook her head.

“Just...go spend some time with her,” she whispered.  “She needs it.”

And without even a word to Mana, she inclined her head, and walked quietly away, disappearing from sight.

Yami no Yugi's arms tightened unconsciously around Mana.

He didn't want to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> monkshood = beware, a foe is near


	17. ~interlude~ Just This One Orange Lily

Ryo Bakura had woken up feeling incredibly sick that morning.  The feeling hadn't really gone away after he had struck out into the cold morning, promising Anzu that he would let her know if he found Yugi.

Poor girl.  She was absolutely frantic, especially after what had happened yesterday between Kaiba and Jonouchi...keeping all these boys in line was just too much for Anzu.  She shouldn't have to deal with it.

_ Not like I could do better _ , Ryo thought.

He shook his head and then buried his face into his scarf, breathing through the plush fabric.  It was cold...colder than usual.  And his stomach was turning over and over again.  He just wanted to go back to sleep.  He felt like he hadn't slept at all, as though he had been walking up and down hallways all night.

His hand wandered up to his chest, resting lightly on the place where the golden Egyptian artifact sat.  He swallowed, feeling nervous.  He knew that the dark spirit had taken control of him sometime after leaving the hospital, but as far as he knew, the other one hadn't done anything.  He had been initially nervous about this trip, and almost asked to have his ticket canceled...but so far, it seemed like nothing was wrong.  Perhaps the spirit was quiet for now.  There was nothing for him to do here, anyway.  There was no Duel Monsters tournament for him to become involved in, and if Ryo had learned one thing about the old spirit it was that he seemed to be confined to playing by a certain set of rules.  Perhaps they would all be safe from him...perhaps he should have told the others about getting possessed back then.

He laughed dryly to himself.  As though that would be possible.  The spirit may be dormant, but he was always there...always watching.  He kept Ryo on a short enough leash as it was...there was no way that Ryo would be able to tell anyone about it.

No, it was nothing.  He was fine, everything was fine.

At least, he hoped it was.

He rounded the corner.  His eyes wandered over the landscape and...ah!  There was Dawn and...oh, Yugi!

Breaking out in a smile, he jogged over to Dawn, who was closest.

“Grey-san,” he called.

The girl looked up from where she was pulling a water bottle out of the vending machine.

“Oh, hi, Bakura!  Didn't I tell you that you could call me Dawn?”

She smiled as he came to a stop in front of her.

“You found Yugi, then?”

“Huh?  Was he missing?”

“Yes...didn't you get Anzu's text message?  He disappeared this morning and we hadn't heard from him.”

“Did he now?” Dawn said, looking vaguely frustrated.  “Sorry, I forgot my phone at home, so I must've missed the commotion.”

“I'll text Anzu now and let her know everything's okay,” Ryo said, pulling out his cell phone and flipping it open.  “Ah...is he okay?  Have you talked to him?”

“Yeah, he's fine.  Just went for a walk...I think he has a lot on his mind.”

“Oh, right...because of yesterday, right?”

Dawn nodded.  Ryo finished his text message and sent it off to the rest of the group.  He paused for a moment and glanced over to Yugi.  He found Yugi looking across at him with his crimson eyes—it was the other Yugi right now.  Ryo smiled.

“You've worried Anzu sick,” he called.

A blush creeped across the ancient pharaoh's cheeks.

“Sorry,” he called back.

Ryo shook his head.  Then he turned back to Dawn.

“So...what exactly happened yesterday, anyways?  Something about...Kisara?  Was that the name?”

That was when the static grew in his ears.

He panicked.  Immediately, he took a big step back from Dawn.

“Dawn, you need to go.  You need to go right now.”

“Bakura?  What's wrong?”

“I'm—you need to—”

And then he was swallowed up, flung unceremoniously into the far recesses of his own mind, and the mental doors clamped shut behind him.

No.  No, no, no, no.  What was  _ he _ doing?  What was he going to do to Dawn?  Yugi was there, it was okay, Yugi could help her, he had to remind himself of that, it was okay.  Yugi would make things okay—oh, god, no.  What was his other self doing?  What did he want?  No, no,  _ no— _

He banged against the mental doors, kicking and screaming and fighting for his place back at the front of the mind.  It was absolutely useless.  He could do  _ nothing _ .  He couldn't see, hear, feel, smell,  _ anything. _  He was truly and completely trapped.

No sooner did he feel that he had thought this that he found himself stumbling forwards.  Air brushed against his face and light blinded him.  He was—he was back.  Why?  And where was he?

Dawn and Yugi were gone.  He himself was standing on a road...in front of Mana's house if he recognized the place correctly.  But...when?  When had he moved?  And why?

The spirit was being uncharacteristically quiet.  Ryo shuddered—he almost would have welcomed the sound of his poisonous voice echoing in his head, gloating over whatever terrible thing he had forced Ryo to do as usual.  But this silence...it was far more uncanny than anything.  What was the spirit up to?  What was he doing?

What was he planning and how did Ryo's confusion factor into that?

As Ryo's thoughts became more confused and desperate, he thought that for certain the spirit would speak up, to torment him, or laugh at his uncertainty.  When he didn't, Ryo only found his panic deepening.

He had to tell someone what was going on.  He had to.

He took off at a brisk jog down the street, heading out of the residential area and towards the square.  He could turn from there towards the motel, and it might even be possible that someone was already there.  With Yugi found they were probably back to scouring shops.  He had to warn someone in the group, anyone.  The spirit was up to something and as long as he was being quiet, Ryo had to act.  He would gladly suffer the nights of punishment he was certain to receive for his disobedience.  He couldn't let this get any farther.

Ryo was running now, his heart hammering in his chest as though the spirit himself was chasing him.  He didn't know how much time he had.  He had to make it.  He had to find someone—

He whipped around the corner and  _ wham! _

With a yelp, he was wheeling backwards, hitting the pavement.  He heard someone swearing in English, but his rattled brain couldn't translate right away.

“What the  _ hell _ ,” he was able to make out.  “You...watch where...wait, you're...”

Ryo blinked the spots out of his eyes.  The person he had collided with was—oh!  He knew here.  She was one of Mana's friends...Cadence?

The girl's gray eyes flashed at him, her lip curling into a scowl.

“Are you late for a date?” she snapped.  “You should watch where you're going.”

She stepped around him, the fabric of her short black skirt rippling over her leggings.  Ryo found a blush creeping over his cheeks as he picked himself up, dusting off his coat.  It was a dumb reaction to what had happened, especially considering his situation.

“Sorry,” he muttered, making to run down the street again.

Static was growing in his head.

He panicked.  Did this have something to do with Cadence?  His brain flew through everything he knew about the girl—she was Mana's friend, they seemed really close, she was always scowling, always seemed to be glaring at Yugi—what was she that would make the spirit try to take control then?

There was no time.  He tried to run.  As far away as he could from her, to give her time, he had no idea what the spirit would do to her.

But his legs wouldn't move.  The static had spread down from his head into his limbs, and he couldn't move them if he tried.  He let out a frustrated cry.  The sound caused Cadence to pause, glancing over her shoulder, brows furrowing behind her glasses.

_ No _ , Ryo thought fiercely.

“Go!” he shouted.  “Please, get out of here, I can't stop him from—”

And then the static overtook his mouth and he could only watch helplessly as his vision started to black out and he was going back into that dark place, there was no time, oh he hoped she took the hint!

The last thing he noticed before everything went dark again was a flash of recognition in Cadence's eyes.

He hadn't been expecting that...

**. . .**

Cadence hesitated at the sound of the boy's cry.  Her eyes wandered over her shoulder.

She didn't really know who he was, all she knew was that he was one of  _ his _ friends, and thus, she wanted him out of here as soon as possible; she needed him away from Mana.  Still, he was ignorant of what his presence here meant and it wasn't his fault, so she didn't have too much dislike.  He seemed a polite and kind young man, someone she might have enjoyed speaking with if they had met under other circumstances.

But upon looking over her shoulder, she found his eyes wide with fear staring at her.

“Go!” he shouted suddenly. “Please, get out of here, I can't stop him from—”

It all came to her in a rush as his eyes flickered from a bright green to a deep purple—a vague memory of screaming and blood and a white haired man with a crooked, wicked smile twisted by a scar that laughed at the world being destroyed beneath him—

“Good afternoon.  You must be Cadence.  I don't think we've met officially.”

Cadence flinched backwards instinctively, putting at least ten feet of distance between her and this new entity.  She swore under her breath.  Another one?  There was another one like Yugi and his other self?  She should have guessed but—how could she have known that  _ that one _ would have been able to reincarnate as well?

“Ah, judging by your reactions, you seem to have some knowledge of me.  Tell me...what do you know of this place?”

“I don't think I have anything to say to you,” Cadence said slowly.  “I would ask that you leave me.”

The boy smiled, a cruel, twisted expression that did not belong on Ryo Bakura's face.

“Come now, there's no need for such a fearful reaction.  I'm not here to hurt you.”

Blood and death and screams and wild, manic laughter.

“Somehow I doubt that.”

The being possessing Ryo Bakura considered her with heavy lidded eyes.  He began to walk slowly towards her.  She side stepped this, opting to circle him instead.  Interest sparked in his eyes.

“You are a fighter,” he said.  “I can tell by the way you hold yourself...you are keeping many secrets, aren't you, Miss Mulloy?”

“My life is none of your business,” Cadence said.  “Leave the boy.”

He smiled.

“Impossible.  He's my host...as he well knows.  He shouldn't have tried to escape me to warn the others of my presence.”

His smile widened.

“I suppose I'll have to punish him for that later.  But I knew that he would lead me to one of you.”

Cadence's lips pressed together.

“What do you want?”

“Answers, Miss Mulloy, answers.  This place is not as it seems.  There are people here that should not be.  People that have disappeared without a trace except in a few select memories.  You, I believe are one of those memories...?”

Cadence did not answer.  She knew exactly who he was speaking of, however—he could not be referring to anyone but Kisara.

“Ah, so you do remember her.”

Cadence flinched.  How could he tell?  She had kept her face so guarded—

He threw his head back and laughed.

“Ah, my dear, you thought you could hide your thoughts from me?  You have quite the poker face, but I've spent thousands of years on this planet and I know the secrets of the human face.”

He shrugged in a mockery of modesty.

“Although, I have confirmed one thing.  You're not an old soul; in fact, you're quite new to the cycle...so the question remains, why do you remember...and why are you here...?”

His smile faded, only a dark, considering gaze training on her.  Cadence tensed.

“Leave the boy's mind,” she said.  “I won't ask you again.”

He smirked.

“Or what?  How does my presence unnerve you?  What are you trying to...protect?  Ah, that's it, you're trying to protect something, and I'm a danger to that...as is the dear pharaoh, isn't it?  That's why you can't stop glaring at him every five seconds.”

Cadence took another small step back, increasing the distance between them.  She noted how lightly he stood, how easily he could dart towards her without a moment's warning.  He was a fighter, a more experienced one than her.  She had to rely on her senses and the element of surprise if she was going to take him out.

“But that would mean...ah, yes.  You're protecting  _ Mana _ , aren't you?  How fascinating...what is she to you?  And how is protecting her related to her precious reincarnated prince?”

Cadence shuddered.  How—how had he read her so easily...?

“Oh, don't look so surprised, it's written all over the way you fawn over the girl, how jealous you are every time the prince gets within five feet of her.  The question remains, however...how is Mana even here...?  I think you know the answer, child...”

Fury rattled through Cadence.  Her fingers rose up to the deep pockets of her coat.

“You will get nothing more from me,” Cadence snapped.  “And if you even  _ think _ of touching her, demon, I swear to heaven I will—”

“You'll what?” he said, a laugh bubbling in his voice.  “You humans, I tell you...absolutely  _ precious _ .  You think you can stand up against  _ me? _ ”

The fingers of her right hand were sliding down into her pocket now.  She was almost there...

It happened  _ almost _ too quickly for her to react.  He darted forward, there was the glint of metal that she knew had to be a knife, and she was whipping her own weapon out of her pocket, flipping the card to face him and  _ pushing _ with all of her power—

_ CLANGGG! _

His knife clattered uselessly off of the bright white shield that had sprung up between them.  Shock flared in his eyes—she had mere seconds before her element of surprise wore off.  She yanked another card from her pocket flipping it up to reveal its purple coloring.

“Cyber Shadow Gardna, defend me,” she commanded.

Instantly, she felt a rush of energy leave her, flooding out into the card and pushing its way into the physical world.  Her monster appeared in a pillar of black smoke, swirling upwards into a shadowy cloud in the vague shape of her opponent.

Bakura drew back as the creature took form between them.  A dark smile grew on his face.

“Well, well, well,” he murmured.  “So you do play this game.”

Cadence didn't wait for his next quip.  If he was really who—or rather, what—she thought he was, then she knew she couldn't defeat him on her own.  Impressing a mental command onto her monster to keep him busy, she make a break for it in the opposite direction.

As she ran, she yanked her phone out of her other pocket and started to dial.  She hated to to do this but...in the end, there was only one other person in this nightmare that she could trust.

“Dawn, please, pick up,” she muttered into the phone.  “Pick  _ up _ .”

Nothing.  It just kept ringing.  With a muffled swear, Cadence shoved the phone back into her pocket and lengthened her stride.  She had been on the track team last year, and it seemed that the work was paying off in something useful.

She had to get to Dawn's house.  Dawn was the only other person that understood what this place was, she was the only person that Cadence knew had the power to help her fend off this madman if he decided to go after Mana as Cadence feared he would.

She reached the residential area, her heart hammering too quickly in her chest.  Would her monster be able to hold him off for long enough?  Oh, gods, what if he was going after Mana right now?  Should she be looking for Mana instead?

Panic roared through her brain and it was all she could do to keep running at this point.  The Grey's house and clinic were just ahead.  She pushed herself—a few more feet, she could make it!

She stumbled up the porch steps and grabbed at the handle of the door, not waiting to knock, just ripping it open and nothing thinking about the fact that it shouldn't be unlocked—

“Dawn!  Dawn!  Are you here?  Dawn!”

She squinted into the darkness of the house—quiet.  Why was it so quiet?  Was Dawn still asleep?  It was early after all and the girl had never been a morning person.  Was Darcy in the clinic?

Cadence stepped into the hallway, not bothering to take off her shoes, jogging down the hall towards the kitchen.

“Dawn!   _ DAWN! _ ”

Her foot caught on something.  With a cry, she tumbled over something large and hit the floor.

Her head struck the wood and she gasped.  Dizziness washed over her.  Up.  She had to get up.  But moving just made her dizzier, and she couldn't think—what had she tripped over?

Groaning, she managed to sit herself up.  She readjusted her crooked glasses, looking for the object—

The blood drained out of her face.

_ “Dr. Grey!” _

The man lay sprawled across the ground.  Blood stained his shirt, his hand pressed to his stomach, his eye were half closed and he was barely breathing.

“Dr. Grey!  Oh, gods, wake up!  What happened?”

Was she too late?  Had that monster been here first and dealt with both Dawn and Darcy already?

“Just hold on, I'm going to go get Seraphina from the clinic, okay?  Keep breathing!”

She stumbled to her feet.  Dizziness again over took her and she had to lean against the door frame.

“I'm going, just breathe, please, oh gods.”

One hand on the wall, she tried to support herself towards the door to the clinic.  But she hesitated at the sound of Darcy shifting.  Upon looking over her shoulder, she saw him using the wall to prop himself up against his back, groaning.  She gasped and stumbled back to him.

“Please, don't move, you'll only make it worse.  Hang on, I'm going to get help.  Is Dawn here?  Is she all right.”

“Dawn...Dawn's fine, she went out early...” Darcy mumbled.

“Sh, sh, okay, thank you, don't talk anymore, I'm going to go get you help.”

She tried to stand up again, but Darcy grabbed her arm with his free hand.

“You have—to tell him,” he whispered.  “You have—to tell him.”

“Tell—tell who what?  Dr. Grey, don't talk, you're bleeding a lot, I need to get you help—”

“It's—it's almost time—for her—to wake—up...you have—to tell—him.”

Being plunged into the Arctic Ocean would have felt warmer than the ice that suddenly shot through Cadence's veins.

“What do you mean?  What are you talking about?  It can't—not yet.  It can't be happening yet.”

“You have to tell him...help her get back...”

“No!”

Cadence flung herself away from Darcy, flattening against the wall for support.  She could hardly breathe.  There was a panic attack coming on from all of the chaos, all of the horrors that she had faced today and—

“No,” she whispered.  “It can't be time yet.  It can't.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> orange lily = hatred


	18. A Cracked Oleander

“What  _ happened? _ ”

Dawn's hands were shaking where they pressed against the table.  Her green eyes were so wide that they seemed tiny dots of color in pools of white.

“Dawn, we've been over this already,” said Cadence.

But her voice shook and cracked, and she would not meet Dawn's eyes.  She had taken a seat at the kitchen table across from Dawn and looked like she might fall off her chair at any second.

The Greys' kitchen was not built to handle this many people.  Yami no Yugi felt squished and trapped against the back wall, with Jonouchi on one side of him and Honda on the other.  Ryo stood in the far corner, looking particularly stricken.  His hands trembled at his sides, and his eyes were wide like a rabbit looking for an exit.

When Dawn had gotten the call from Cadence that Darcy was in the clinic and it was bad and she didn't know what to do, Dawn and Yami no Yugi had still been at the park.  Upon rushing to the Greys' house, they had come across Ryo standing in the middle of the square, trembling, mouth hanging open, shaking his head and mumbling to himself.  He had almost fallen over when Yami no Yugi told him what had happened and asked him to come with them to the Greys' house.

There had been something in the boy's peridot eyes that had told Yami no Yugi that Ryo knew exactly who had done this, knew exactly what had happened, and the way that his mouth flapped open and closed silently a few times was signal enough that he was trying his absolute hardest to tell Yami no Yugi what he already knew.  Yami no Bakura was at work.

Yami no Yugi had just squeezed the boy's shoulder, trying to reassure him.

_ I don't blame you. _

He hadn't said it out loud, though, because he didn't want to make Ryo have to deal with the consequences of letting Yami no Bakura know Yami no Yugi was aware of his involvement.

Even now, Ryo looked like he wanted to turn and flee, to escape this room, afraid that he would be forced to hurt someone again.  Yami no Yugi wished he could walk over there right now and stand next to him...maybe that would make him feel safer.  Not that Yami no Yugi could do much to stop the other spirit from taking control but...

Dominic was on the other side of the table, hugging a sobbing, trembling Mana who had buried her face into Dominic's shoulder.  Anzu stood behind the girl, stroking her hair gently in an attempt to soothe her.  This was all too much.  First Kisara disappears, and then Darcy gets hurt?

Only Seto was not present.  Yami no Yugi had texted him, but his rival had not responded.  He wasn't really surprised; Seto had no connection to Darcy, and was probably still shaken over Kisara.  Probably wasn't checking his phone, even.

“Just tell me again,” Dawn said desperately.  “Please, I need to know what happened.”

“I don't know!” Cadence said, with maybe too much force.  Her glasses were crooked, and she was as pale as the snow outside.  “Okay?  I don't know, Dawn!  I came in and Darcy was hurt!  I got Seraphina out of the clinic and now he's being taken care of.  I don't know, I don't know, I don't  _ know— _ ”

Her voice cracked.  She dropped her head into her hands, shoulders shaking.

Dawn's hands curled into fists on her lap.  Her eyes were coated with a film of tears, but her mouth was twisted into an angry grimace.  She shook so badly that Yami no Yugi thought she might fall over.

“I need to know,” she mumbled.  “I need to  _ know! _ ”

Her head snapped up, teeth almost clattering with anxiety.

“Cadence, I need to know what happened to him!  What happened?  Why—why  _ him _ —”

“Do you think I wanted that to happen?” Cadence practically screamed back.  “Do you think I wanted him to get hurt?  There was nothing I could have done; I just found him like that; what else do you want me to say, Dawn?”

“I want you to say that you had nothing to do with it!”

Cadence's mouth dropped open.  For a moment, a stunned silence filled the room.  Cadence's mouth opened and closed silently for a moment.  And then rage deepened the lines of her face.

“You—you think  _ I _ would've—”

“Dawn, what are you  _ saying? _ ” Dominic said, his face going red for a moment.  “What the  _ hell? _ ”

Mana's eyes widened, her mouth hanging open, face flushed from tears and disbelief as her eyes flicked between Cadence and Dawn.

“Don't act like you haven't argued with us through all of this, don't act like that!” Dawn shouted at Cadence, ignoring Dominic, ignoring the stunned faces of everyone around her, tears flinging from her eyes.

“We've disagreed, that doesn't mean I would hurt Darcy!”

“Dawn!” Yami no Yugi said, stepping forward.  “Dawn, stop it!”

Dawn had jumped to her feet, slamming her hands on the table, her chair clattering to the floor behind her.  Cadence shot upwards too, angry tears springing to her eyes.

“You are being irrational!” she said through gritted teeth.

“He could die,” Dawn said.  Her voice was barely a whisper, a choked sob.  “Cadence, he could die.”

“That doesn't mean you should go around accusing me!!”

“Guys,” Mana sobbed.  “Guys!  Please stop fighting!”

Both girls shut up immediately.  Guilt flooded into Dawn's face.  She slumped back from the table.

“I'm...I'm sorry.”

Cadence ducked her head, not meeting Mana's eyes.

“...I'm going,” she said.  “Let me know if anything changes.”

She shoved her chair out of the way and rushed from the room, head down so that her bangs covered her eyes.  She bumped past Ryo on her way out, and he flinched, scuttling back into the corner.

“Cadence!” Mana shouted, wriggling out of Dominic's suddenly very tight grip.  “ _ Cadence! _ ”

It was too late.  The door slammed shut in the distance, and Cadence was gone.

He couldn't do anything.  He was just standing there, his arms limp at his sides, head buzzing but going in circles with no real productive thoughts.

Yami no Bakura was at work here.  Darcy was hurt.  Dawn and Cadence were the only ones that knew what was going on and they were at odds with each other in perhaps the worst way possible.  With this new disaster, it wasn't likely that either of them would be in the mindset to explain anything to him.

What was Yami no Bakura up to??  What had he thought to gain from hurting Darcy?  Darcy, of all people?  Hadn't he been the one that said that only those souls connected to ancient Egypt would remember Kisara?  If Yami no Bakura was trying to find out the truth of this place the same way that Yami no Yugi was, wouldn't have have gone after one of the others?  Mana, perhaps?  No, no, he didn't want Mana in the line of fire, that wasn't what he was thinking but— _ Darcy? _  Darcy had nothing to do with this...

Did he?

The door between the kitchen and clinic opened.  Everyone in the room jumped up almost as one, eyes trained on the woman.

It was the orange haired nurse, Seraphina, her long hair drawn back and wrapped around her head so that she could cover it with a hair net.  She glanced around the room before she saw Dawn.

“He's going to be all right,” she said, aiming the words towards Dawn.

A collective sigh echoed around the room.

“I won't lie.  It was bad,” Seraphina said.  “And he's still lost a lot of blood.  Dawn, I believe you two have the same blood type, correct?  We don't have his type in stock...I'm going to need you to come help with the transfusion.  And you're going to have to sign some papers.”

“I'm coming,” Dawn said, leaping to her feet so quickly that the chair fell over behind her.  “I'll sign the papers  _ later _ , just do what you have to, okay?”

Seraphina grimaced, but she nodded.

She waved Dawn into the clinic ahead of her.  Before she closed the door, however, she glanced up at the rest of them.

“You guys...should probably just go for now,” she said.  “It'll probably be better.  For now.  We'll keep you posted.”

She paused.

“He'll be okay,” she repeated.

Then she ducked back through the door and closed it behind her.

Silence fell over the kitchen.  For a moment, the only sound was Mana's soft sniffles as she hugged Dominic tighter.  Yami no Yugi felt himself trembling.  He wasn't sure he could move if he tried.

Jonouchi's hand slid onto his shoulder.  Yami no Yugi glanced up at his friend.

“Maybe we should clear out for a little bit,” Jonouchi muttered.  “I...I mean, we're kind of the outsiders here, huh?”

He knew Jonouchi didn't mean it, but it felt a bit like a punch to the gut.

That's right.  He was the outsider here.  They weren't a part of this group, not really.  It was probably best if they hung back.

“...right,” Yami no Yugi said.  “We should go.”

Jonouchi sent Yami no Yugi an awkward smile, an attempt at reassurance.  Yami no Yugi tried to smile back, but it was more for Jonouchi's sake than his own.  When Jonouchi looked away, the smile instantly dropped from Yami no Yugi's face.  How could he feel happy at all right now?  Not when there were too many questions, too many disasters, just too much of...everything.

He sighed, and followed Jonouchi and Honda around the dining table to the other side of the kitchen.  But as he did so, he passed by the door to the clinic, and thought he heard voices.  Seraphina and Dawn?  Why were they still there?  Wasn't Dawn supposed to be going to get blood taken...?

In spite of himself, Yami no Yugi hesitated.  Yugi poked at his mind curiously, wondering why they had stopped, but Yami no Yugi was too busy listening to respond to his partner right away.

_ “...attack...magic.  I'm not....able to....for long....this form.” _

_ “You...save him...right?” _

_ “If...doesn't end....lose him...I'm doing...I can...few days...a week.  But he's....right now.” _

It was hard to catch all the words.  Yami no Yugi strained.  What were they talking about?

“Yug, you coming?” Jonouchi said.

Yami no Yugi startled.  He jumped away from the door, suddenly embarrassed.  He shouldn't...be eavesdropping.

“Right.  Yes,” he said.  “I'm sorry.”

Jonouchi just shrugged, waiting for him at the door.  Yami no Yugi followed along down the hallway and back out into the cold.  He sucked in a deep breath, the cold cramping in his stomach for a moment.  The others were all waiting at the end of the walkway, looking as uncertain as he felt.  What were they supposed to do now?  They couldn't very well just go back to doing touristy things, not with those thoughts on their mind of Darcy's injuries and Dawn and Cadence's horrible fight.

_ I can't believe she would accuse Cadence of harming Darcy _ , Yami no Yugi thought incredulously.   _ Cadence isn't very pleasant to be around sometimes, but she wouldn't hurt anyone...at least, I don't think she would. _

He sighed, and stepped down from the doorway.  His foot crunched on something that sounded like...paper?

He glanced down.  Who had thrown the mail here, of all places?  Perhaps it had fallen out of the mailbox on the side of the door?  Odd.

He hesitated.  Then he reached down and gathered it up.

“I'm just going to put this just inside the door for them,” he told Jonouchi.  “I'll catch up.”

Jonouchi nodded, but he stopped on the walkway as though he were going to wait for Yami no Yugi right there.  Yami no Yugi sent him a grateful smile and pulled the door open one last time.

There was a small table just inside the door, right by the coat pegs, with a little basket for keys and things.  He would just leave the mail there.

As he set it down, however, the name written on the top of the address caught his attention.  It was...Darcy's name, but it was the full name, with the middle named spelled out, and it was...

_ Mr. Darcy Mahad Grey. _

For a moment, Yami no Yugi felt dizzy.  

That name.

He knew that name.

His mind shot back to his memory of Darcy, the tall, fair skinned man with the dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail, something had always felt just a little bit off about him, like he was just barely the wrong color—those calm brown eyes and soft, knowing smile, the cut of the bangs that looked like—

Yami no Yugi swore softly, staring at the wall.

“Darcy Mahad,” he muttered. “Dark Magician?”

Dawn was the Dark Magician Girl.  Darcy was the Dark Magician.

Somewhere at the back of his mind he had always just thought that Dawn was only teasing.  That there was no way that she could actually be the Dark Magician Girl.  Although he had accepted the fact that she probably was, there had been a large part of him that believed it was a joke.  It was why he really hadn't thought seriously about it before now.

But now, more images were tumbling through his mind.  More images of places and people and things that he had seen here that didn't make sense.  Things that reminded him of none other than...Duel Monsters cards.

Darcy, the Dark Magician.  Dawn, the Dark Magician Girl.  Seraphina, with her orange hair and familiar eyes was the Magician's Valkyria.  The ballroom dance teacher—Cecelia Thomas, she looked like Cyber Tutu.  That secretary at the community center called Helena Fawn, she was the Hysteric Fairy; that familiar looking man at the thrift store that had suggested that Yami no Yugi buy those necklaces was none other than the Celtic Guardian.

How many others?  How many other around him were Duel Spirits and he just hadn't noticed?  Why were they all here?   _ How _ were they all here?

And the shadows, those things that Dawn and Cadence had been fighting, they had called them  _ nightmares _ .

_ “Other me?” _

Yami no Yugi's head was spinning.

“ _ Shit _ ,” he whispered.  “This place...what is this place??”

Darcy was injured, Seraphina was in the clinic, Dawn was busy and too emotionally unstable to talk to right now.  All of the shops and places he had seen the other Duel Spirits at were sure to be closed, it was a Sunday.

There was only one person that he could get to tell him the truth.  

Cadence Mulloy.

**. . .**

“I need to go find Cadence,” Yami no Yugi muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

Jonouchi glanced down at him, eyes narrowing slightly.  His eyes glanced around the group for a moment, walking in relative silence except for the soft sounds of Anzu trying to comfort Mana.

“What for?” he said back, equally quietly.

“She's the only one here that I think knows the truth of what's going on in this town.”

Jonouchi's lips pressed together slightly, eyes focused ahead.

“Let's go find her, then,” he said, lengthening his stride.

“No, wait,” said Yami no Yugi, grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him closer.

He paused for a moment, glancing around to see if the rest of the group was listening.  They weren't.  Everyone seemed to be in their own little worlds, and Ryo was walking as far behind the group as he could possibly manage without being asked why he was lagging.

“I need you to distract Bakura,” Yami no Yugi whispered.

Jonouchi's eyes widened slightly.

“You mean...”

He caught on quickly, Yami no Yugi noted with a small smile.

“Yami no Bakura confronted me earlier.  I don't want him to know where I'm going.”

Jonouchi's eyes were already flashing with determination.

“Honda and I'll take care of it,” he said, nodding.  “Do what you have to, Yug.”

He squeezed Yami no Yugi's shoulder lightly and sent him a small smile.  Then he angled towards Honda, and Yami no Yugi watched him whisper into Honda's ear.  Honda nodded, and the two boys fell back a bit to walk by Ryo, Jonouchi starting a soft conversation.

Yami no Yugi didn't know what they were talking about, but it would be enough.  He waited for the boys to get Ryo to unconsciously fall into step with them, and then move forward into the rest of the group.  Yami no Yugi felt horrible about tricking Ryo in this way, but—he was sure Ryo would understand.  He didn't want to give Bakura another reason to take control of him again.

Yami no Yugi carefully, naturally fell behind Ryo and the others.  He let them get some distance—he would cut across the neighborhood here and go to the park.  He was positive that's where Cadence would have fled.

_ “Other me,”  _ Yugi said softly.   _ “Other me...do you have to do this?” _

Yami no Yugi hesitated.

_ “What—what kind of question is that?  We want to figure out what's going on, don't we?” _

_ “I know but...I know what you're doing with this, other me.  But I don't think you do.” _

Yami no Yugi blinked.

_ “What are you...talking about?” _

_ “You're trying to distract yourself from Mana.” _

W-what?  He was not.  That wasn't—he just had to get to the bottom of what was going on, so that Mana would be hurt anymore by all of this—

But as soon as he let himself think about her, the images crashed into him.  Her sitting there and sobbing at Darcy's injuries, the stricken look on her face when everyone forgot Kisara, the pressure of her hands on his arm, the quiet sob as she pressed her face into his shoulder, the way that he had jerked his hand away when she had brushed her fingers against his—

_ I can't.  I can't—I can't hold her.  I can't comfort her.  Because—because this isn't my body, I can't.  I'm not...allowed.  I don't belong here. _

He had been trying to forget those thoughts.  With everyone that had happened, it was an easy task to just...ignore them.  He realized with a guilty start that he had actually been somewhat glad for all of the bad thing that had happened because—because they gave him an excuse to pretend not to care about his confusing feelings.

_ “Other me?” _

Yami no Yugi swallowed.

Mana was up ahead, still.  He could—if he ran, he could make it over there and take her hand, help Anzu comfort her after all that had happened.

He didn't have the right to.

But was that what she wanted from him?

It didn't matter.  This wasn't his body.  She couldn't understand that.  He had been foolish in his interaction with her.  He wouldn't be able to treat her the way—the way he wanted to.

_ “Other me.” _

Yugi's voice was more insistent.  Yami no Yugi shook his head and closed his eyes.  Then he turned off to duck between the houses towards the park.

Yugi's projection appeared beside him, almost scowling at Yami no Yugi as he jogged through the snow.

_ “You can't run from this forever,” _ Yugi said, almost harshly.   _ “Other me.  Are you listening to me?  You can't do this to yourself.” _

But for once in his short memory of existence, Yami no Yugi couldn't bring himself to listen to what Yugi was saying.  It hit too close to home.

_ I'm not running.  I'm just...I'm accepting this.  I can't—I can't be what I need to be for her.  But I can maybe solve this mystery, and make everything okay for her again. _

But then his mind jumped to Cadence, and how she had kept saying that all of this was  _ his _ fault.  Yami no Yugi felt a pit growing in his stomach.

_ And then I'll leave.  I'll leave so that I can't hurt her anymore.  It's...it's for the better. _

He could not ignore the pain that shot through his heart at the thought.

But he could pretend that he did.

Once he was through the line of houses to the next street over, he slowed to  brisk walk.  He wondered how long it would be before the others noticed he was missing...he felt bad for not letting Anzu in on what he was doing, but he hadn't wanted to tip of Mana and Dominic that he was going to confront their friend...and the more people he told, the more likely it would have been that Yami no Bakura would have realized what he was doing.

“Y-Yami!”

Yami no Yugi froze. That voice—

He turned around, already knowing who he was going to see running up to him.  Mana's face was flushed a deeper brown, her breath rising in puffs of steam as she jogged through the snow.  She came to a stop in front of him and dropped her hands to her knees to catch her breath.

“Where are you going?” she asked.  “I saw you leave the rest of the group and...”

“I...what about you?  What are you doing here?”

His brain didn't seem to want to function.  On one hand, he wanted to draw back, to let Yugi take over because this was wrong, this was so wrong, he couldn't get this close to her, this wasn't his life.  On the other hand, he could not deny the flooding of calm and happiness in his chest at the sight of her round, kind face, her dark eyes and thick hair mussed up by her earmuffs.

“I...I told the others that I was just going to go home,” she mumbled, not quite looking up at him.  “I thought since you slipped away so quietly you didn't want anyone to know what you were doing...”

She hesitated, scuffing her foot across the sidewalk.

“I'm not bothering you, am I?” she asked.

She looked so uncertain, her brows drawing together, eyes not quite meeting Yami no Yugi's.

“No—no, of course not, you're not,” Yami no Yugi said.  “I...I'm sorry I just...left.”

Mana's cheeks went even deeper in color.  She looked up at Yami no Yugi from under her bangs.

“Are you sure?” she whispered.

“I'm positive,” he said, reaching out and putting his hands on her shoulders, almost instinctively.  

Immediately, he thought that he shouldn't do that, but Mana's hands came up slowly and rested on top of his.  He couldn't very well pull away now.

“Are you...all right?” he whispered.

Mana looked down again, bangs falling over her eyes.

“I'm just...I'm so scared,” she mumbled.  “Everything is happening so fast.  First Kisara disappears, and everyone forgets her, and then Darcy gets hurt...”

She sniffled.  Yami no Yugi wanted to step closer to her, to hug her the way that she needed to be hugged.

His misgivings held him back.  

They stood there for a moment in the quiet, his hands still on her shoulders, her hands still on his.  He could feel the warmth of her fingers even through her gloves.

“So...where are you going?” Mana asked.  “You're looking for Cadence, aren't you?”

He started.

“How did you know?”

“I thought I'd go look for her myself...I feel like she and Dawn know something about what's going on.”

She shivered, and he squeezed her shoulders lightly.

“I just—I'm scared,” Mana whispered.  “Everything has felt so weird lately, and I keep having so many bad dreams, and it's like...sometimes I wonder if I'm even  _ awake... _ ”

Yami no Yugi nodded.  He knew the feeling.

“You're awake,” he said.  “I promise.”

Mana looked up at him, eyes shining with desperation.

“How do you know?” she whispered.  “How do you know?”

Yami no Yugi hesitated.  Then he reached into his pocket for his deck box, pulling it out and popping it open.  He drew out a card at random and was only partially surprised to see the Dark Magician Girl.

“Here,” he said, handing it to her.  “Look.  You can read the effect, right?”

Mana sniffled as she stared at it.

“It's in Japanese,” she said wryly.  “I can't read Japanese.”

Yami no Yugi chuckled softly.

“That's true,” he said.  “But you can still see the words, right?”

“Uh-huh...why is this important?”

He smiled at her.

“You can't read in a dream.  The human brain doesn't work like that...so you must be awake.”

Mana stared at the card for a long, long moment.

Then she wrapped her arms around Yami no Yugi and buried her face in his chest.  He flinched at first, surprised.  But she was so warm, and she fit so perfectly against him, that he couldn't help it.  He wrapped his arms back around her and dropped his head into her hair, breathing in the scent of her flowery shampoo.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“It's no problem,” he whispered back.

They stood there for who knows how long.  It felt like time had stopped.

Mana was the one that finally stepped away, rubbing at her eyes quickly.

“Come on,” she said, holding out her hand.  “Let's go find Kay.”

Yami no Yugi hesitated.

_ “Dammit, other me, take her hand,” _ Yugi whispered at him.

It was rare that Yugi got so adamant—Yami no Yugi almost smiled with disbelief.  But he did as he was told, reaching out and wrapping his fingers around her gloved hand.

“Yeah,” he said.  “Let's go find her.”

**. . .**

Yami no Yugi had guessed correctly.  Cadence was in the park.

She paced through the snow, doing something with her fingers.  It took Yami no Yugi a second to realize that she was shuffling cards.

“Are those...?” he started.

“Duel Monsters cards?” Mana finished.

They glanced at each other.  Yami no Yugi tried not to think too hard about the fact that she was still holding his hand.  He didn't want to think too much or he would start to feel guilty again and right now, he didn't think he could bear to let go.

“But Kay said she didn't play,” Mana whispered.  “Did she start?”

Yami no Yugi shook his head, watching the practiced way she flipped the cards through her fingers.

“No.  I have a feeling she's had those for a while,” he said quietly.

“Then why did—why did she lie?”

Her voice was so broken, so desperate, that Yami no Yugi's heart broke.  He squeezed her hand.

“I can try to talk to her,” he said.

“No,” Mana said, stubbornly.  “Cadence is my friend.  I'm coming with you.”

Yami no Yugi nodded.  He had expected as much, and would not stop her.  He took a breath.  And they stepped into the park together.

The crunch of their approaching feet caught Cadence's attention.  She lost control of the cards and they fluttered out of her hands.  She swore as she dove for them, catching a few before they dropped into the snow.

Mana dropped Yami no Yugi's hand and ran the last few feet to Cadence, dropping down to help her pick up the cards.

“It's fine, it's fine, Mana, I've got it,” Cadence said.  Her face was red and her eyes were wide.  She looked as though she had just run a marathon; she was almost gasping for breath.

“Let me help, it's okay,” Mana said, stubbornly.  “Here...I got some for you.”

She handed them to Cadence, who took them after a beat.  She shuffled them back into her hands, ducking her head.

“Are you okay?” Mana whispered.

Cadence looked up at Yami no Yugi.  Her lips pressed into a tight line—were those tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

“No,” she whispered.  “No, I'm not.”

She shook her head.

“But it's fine.  I'll be fine.  What about you?  Are you all right?  I know this has all been tough for you—”

“Cadence— _ no _ ,” Mana said firmly.  “You always do this.   _ Always.   _ You always dismiss yourself, like it's okay that you're not feeling okay, and then turn it back to me.  Not this time, okay?  Not this time.”

And then the girl reached forward and wrapped her arms around Cadence's shoulders, pulling her tightly against her.  Cadence hiccuped a bit with uncried tears.  Her arms hung limply at her sides for a moment.  And then, almost tentatively, she, too, wrapped her arms around Mana, still gripping her deck in one hand.  Yami no Yugi could see her trembling as she buried her face into Mana's shoulder, shoulders shaking.

“Sh, sh,” Mana murmured, stroking the girl's hair.  “It's okay.”

“No, no, no, it's not, I'm supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around,” Cadence muttered.  “I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry, Mana.  I'm—I'm so  _ selfish... _ ”

“It's okay,” Mana said.  “It's okay.”

Yami no Yugi hung back.  This was...an important moment, he felt.  He almost felt guilty for intruding on it—at least he did until Cadence look back up at him over Mana's shoulder and half glared at him again, as though she were irritated with him intruding on this moment.  He sighed.  She still wasn't going to like him, was she?

He bent down to gather up the rest of Cadence's cards.  He frowned slightly—there was an awful lot of traps here...where were all her monsters?  She didn't have a deck made of entirely traps, did she?

Finally, Cadence pulled away from Mana, rubbing quickly at her eyes.

“I'm okay,” she said. “No, really, Mana, I'm okay...I just want you to be okay.  All right?  Are you all right?”

“I'm fine,” Mana said, although Yami no Yugi was pretty sure she wasn't fine.  “I'm just...a little shaken.”

She shifted a bit, hugging herself.

“Darcy's going to be okay,” she said.  “I thought...you would want to know.”

Relief broke across Cadence's face.

“Oh thank God,” she muttered.  “Thank God.”

Yami no Yugi held out the last of her cards silently.  She stared at them for a moment, and then stared at Yami no Yugi.  Her eyes half narrowed, but it was a half-hearted expression.  She accepted the cards and tucked them back into her deck.  As she began to shuffle them again, face up this time, Yami no Yugi saw that he had been right—he only saw purple among her cards.  An all trap deck?  He hadn't known that was possible.  Was she a good duelist?

“Cadence,” he murmured.  “Why all traps?”

She looked up sharply at him.  Mana blinked, not understanding.  Finally, Cadence dropped her eyes.

“To stop them before they get too close,” she said.  “To avoid direct confrontation.”

Yami no Yugi instinctively knew what she was talking about.  Those shadows.  The nightmares.  She was using Duel Monsters cards to fight them—but how?  That wasn't a common ability, to be able to access the magic itself of the game.  In fact, Yami no Yugi had thought only the Millennium Item users were able to do that.

“What are you talking about?” Mana asked, uncertainly.

Cadence shook her head.

“It's...not important.”

“It is, though,” Mana insisted.  “You never told me you played this game.  You said that it was stupid.  Why?”

Yami no Yugi thought he saw a brief flash of light in the woods just off from the park.  He glanced up, and was almost not surprised to see the hint of a Mirror Force shield disappearing from view.  The nightmares.  They were back.

Cadence looked up at Yami no Yugi, gray eyes hard.

“They've never been active in the day before,” she said. “It's because you're making her remember...it's all breaking up.”

“What's breaking up?”

Cadence didn't answer.  Mana was looking back and forth between them, eyes wide.  This was making her scared, Yami no Yugi realized.  This was why he had wanted to confront Cadence alone.  He didn't—he didn't want her to get involved... He didn't feel like he could ask Cadence the questions he needed to.  About the Duel Spirits in this town, about Darcy being the Dark Magician, about the nightmares, what they were and where they came from.

Cadence stood up, brushing the snow off of her dress.  Mana, too, scrambled to her feet.

“Cadence,” she said.

“It's not important,” Cadence said, firmly.  “I'm sorry.  I don't want to hide things from you.  I don't want you to be scared...but I want you to be safe.”

Cadence hesitated.  Then she stepped forward, put her hands on Mana's shoulders, and kissed her on the forehead.  Mana's eyes widened as Cadence stepped back.  She reached up to touch her forehead, gently, tentatively.  Cadence wouldn't meet her eyes.

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered, voice choked.  “I don't want this to—I don't want this to end.”

She swallowed.  She turned quickly, her dress fluttering.

“I won't let it end,” she said, her voice hard.  “I'm going to stop it from ending.”

But her voice broke halfway through, lessening the strength of her conviction.  She sucked in a deep, shaky breath.

“Mana...please,” Cadence said, without turning around.  “Please say goodbye to him, and let things go back to normal.”

“To...to Yami?” Mana said.  “Cadence, you're scaring me.  Why do—why can't you—”

“Please...Mana.”

Mana hesitated.  Her eyes flicked between Cadence and Yami.  They shone with tears that didn't yet fall.

“Why do you have to do this?” Yami no Yugi said.  “She cares about you.  Why are you making her choose??”

“Cadence,” Mana whispered.  “Cadence, please.”

Cadence still didn't turn around.  She let out a soft, tired sigh.

“....fine.  I...understand.”

For a moment, she glanced back, meeting Yami no Yugi's eyes.  Yami no Yugi knew, then, what she was thinking.

_ We are enemies.  For certain now. _

“I'll see you later, Mana,” she whispered.

And she started to walk away.

“Cadence—Cadence, wait!!”

But then the girl took off at a run, just out of reach of Mana's desperate swing.  Cadence was fast—too fast for Mana to really react.

“Cadence!” Yami no Yugi shouted.  “Cadence!”

He still didn't know—he didn't know anything.  He didn't understand what she was doing, what was going on, why they had to be enemies, why she had to hurt Mana like this.

This was all his fault.

Mana dropped to her knees, sobbing.  She kept mumbling Cadence's name, over and over again.  Yami no Yugi's fingers twitched towards her, but he stepped back.  No.  No he—this was his fault.  If he hadn't come, then Mana and Cadence's friendship wouldn't have been broken, and...

“I'm...I'm sorry,” he said.  “I'm so sorry.”

Mana sniffled, a gloved hand pressed to her face.

“Yami,” she whispered.  “Please.”

Her hand reached vaguely back for him.  He started—did she...she didn't really want him here, did she?  He had caused such a rift between her and Cadence...

“ _ Please _ ,” she said again.

He stepped forward.  He reached tentatively for her fingers, brushing against her hand.  As soon as they touched, she latched onto his hand, turning around and pulling him towards her.  He knelt down in the snow beside her, letting her wrap her arms around him and sob again.

He stroked her hair lightly, feeling the silkiness of it between his fingers.

“I'm sorry,” he muttered again.  “I'm sorry.”

“Stop it,” she said.  “Stop that.  I don't—I don't want you to be sorry because I—I just need you.  I need you right here.”

She choked on her words and had to stop.  They just sat there, hugging, for a long, long moment.

“...why is she like that?” she whispered, finally.

“I don't know.  I'm—”

“If you say you're sorry one more time I'm going to punch you,” she said shakily.

He almost smiled, but there were tears stuck in his throat, and it was hard.  Again, they sat in silence for a long, long moment.

“Yami?”

“Yes?”

“Despite—despite everything...I'm still glad I met you.”

Yami no Yugi squeezed her tighter, instinctively.  She just fit so right in his arms...he couldn't help it.

“I...I'm glad too.”

Mana burrowed deeper into his embrace.

“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” she whispered.

“Already?”

He had totally lost track of the time.  Was it really almost Christmas.

“You know...I don't really like winter but...I've always loved Christmas.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.  Because...because miracles can happen at Christmas.  I've always believed that.”

Yami no Yugi almost thought he knew what kinds of miracles she was hoping for this year.  He nodded against her.

“I'm sure they will,” he said.  “I'm positive a miracle will happen.”

Again, the silence grew.

“Mana?”

“Mm?”

“Do you...want to go to the square with me on Christmas Eve?”

She sighed, sinking into him.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oleander = caution


	19. The Aster of Contact

Yami no Yugi awoke to a dry mouth and an overwhelming sense of dizziness.  Had he—had he actually fallen asleep?  He could not remember sinking into such a state ever before.

He could sense his partner stirring at the back of his mind.  His heart pounded in his ears.  He felt dizzy and sick and he wanted to go back to sleep...he had forgotten how wonderful the ability to sleep was.  He wanted it back again.

He was so tired that he didn't move as Yugi slipped into control, sitting up in bed and stretching.

_ “You okay, other me?” _ he asked.

_ “I think so.” _

_ “Today's the big day, right?” _

_ “Mmm.” _

His thoughts finally turned to the thing he had been trying to forget—he was meeting Mana today.  For Christmas.  Not with the rest of the group, he had talked to them last night and they all seemed to be making plans among themselves, a desperate attempt to regain some normality in the last few days of the trip after what had happened to Darcy.  Jonouchi, Honda, and Dominic were going someplace, probably for the best, as Dominic seemed very shaken and all of his friends had drifted apart for now.  Ryo had locked himself up in one of the motel rooms and refused to come out in the morning.  Claimed he was sick.  Yami no Yugi knew better.  He wanted to do something to help his friend...but what could he do that wouldn't end with Yami no Bakura hurting Ryo?  Seto was, once again, missing for the day.  He had only responded to texts and calls when Anzu had finally left him a very worried voice message and he sent a brief “I'm alive so stop texting me dammit.”

Dawn wasn't responding to messages either.  Cadence was...who knows where.  Only Anzu had seemed a bit awkward last evening, as though she didn't know what to do.  She had asked Yugi what he planned to do, and Yami no Yugi hadn't missed the barest look of disappointment when Yugi had told her that Yami no Yugi was going to meet with Mana.  Anzu hadn't asked to tag along—she seemed to understand—but Yami no Yugi actually felt his chest hurting at the flicker of sadness in Anzu's face.

This was wrong.  He was being selfish.  He was so goddamn selfish; this wasn't his body or his life and he shouldn't be hijacking Yugi's Christmas day and leaving Anzu alone—he  _ knew _ , he understood Anzu's feelings for him, or at least, he thought he did, and dammit, he hadn't even realized how he might be hurting her with this, how she might be just a little jealous but was so, so kind and would never say anything about it.

Hidden away in his soul room, he dropped his head between his knees and sighed.

_ “Other me?  Are you feeling sorry for yourself again?” _

_ “No...” _

_ “Don't lie.” _

Yami no Yugi sighed again.

_ “...yes.” _

Yugi huffed as he shuffled across the floor to his bag, rifling for his clothes.

“What do you want to wear today?”

_ “...I don't know.  You pick.” _

“But this is  _ your _ date.”

_ “....maybe I shouldn't go.” _

“No way,” Yugi snapped.  “You promised Mana already.  You can't leave her hanging, especially not after everything.”

_ “Maybe Cadence is right.  Maybe I shouldn't be around her.  Everything has gone wrong since I got here...” _

Yugi hummed irritably.

“You know, sometimes I wish I could shake you around a little,” he said.  “Mana  _ likes _ you.  Probably a lot.  And you like her, right?”

Yami no Yugi hesitated.  In the back of his mind, he could see her twirling in that lavender dress of hers, the way her whole face lit up with her smile, the way her hair always seemed messy while it framed her beautiful brown skin.

_ “Yes...” _ he said.  And then he realized it was true.

He liked her.  He liked Mana a lot.  More than a lot.  He wanted to wrap his arms around her, and chase her around with laughter in his stomach as she giggled at him to catch up, and make silly faces at her so that he could hear her loud, raucous laugh, and dance with her again, and hold her hand and feel the softness of her skin against his.

_ “Yes.  I—I do.” _

Yugi's next sentence came with a deep air of satisfaction.

“Then you need to care about what you look like for this.  All right, what about this shirt?”

But even as Mana's face glowed in his mind, Yami no Yugi shook his head.

_ “But...Yugi, this is—” _

“One more word and I'm going to dress you in a chicken suit,” Yugi said.  “Come ooon.  Help me decide.  Do you want to wear these bracelets or go without jewelry?  Oh, and I wrapped that necklace you bought for her.  Don't forget to give it to her.”

Yugi was so happy.  How could he be so cheerful?  He was getting himself ready for something that he wouldn't get to participate in, something that he would draw back from and go dormant in his own body so that he could give Yami no Yugi space.  It didn't seem fair to Yami no Yugi.  How could Yugi be so kind, so generous?  There must be something that Yugi had wanted to do today by himself.

_ “Thank you,” _ he whispered.

Yugi was still talking, and so didn't hear.  Yami no Yugi hoped that his feelings would reach his partner, at the very least.

**. . .**

Mana was waiting for him in front of Cherry Bites Cafe.  She wore her usual long, dark purple coat and big black earmuffs against the cold, clasping and unclasping her hands in her big black mittens.  Her hair seemed to have been pulled into as much a manageable style as possible, half pulled back into a ponytail that it appeared to be trying to strain free of.

Her eyes brightened as he shuffled through the snow to meet her, jumping away from the wall and running over.

“Happy Christmas Eve!” she said, hugging him tightly for a moment.  Then she hopped back and grabbed his hands in her mittened ones, squeezing tightly.

He couldn't stop a smile from forming, squeezing her hands back.  She was so pretty when she smiled so big like that, her eyes sparkling and her lips turned up so wide that her cheeks dimpled.

“Happy Christmas Eve,” he said.

They both hesitated, then, as though neither were certain what to say.

Yami no Yugi struggled for a conversation starter.  And for an excuse to let go of her hands, because although he wanted to cling on to her like he had wanted nothing before, he still felt—it was wrong.

_ Not my hands. _

“So, uh, what do you want to do, then?” Mana asked, drawing back from him herself so that he didn't have to.  There was a kind of...uncertainty about her all of a sudden.  Her cheer seemed to fade, and her eyes dropped to the pavement.

_ Oh no, did I offend her?  Did I do something wrong? _

“I, uh...I thought we might go get some lunch?”

“That sounds good,” she said, still not quite looking at him.  “Want to go to Cherry Bites?  We're already here, I mean...”

“Sounds good.  I don't know any other places really, anyway...”

They both just stood there, unmoving for a second.  The awkward silence was really starting to get to him—what was he doing wrong?  This was like the date with Anzu all over again.  He shouldn't feel this way, not with Mana.

Was she picking up on the fact that he was holding himself back?  That he really wanted to just wrap his arms around her and hold her against him, but wouldn't?  Maybe his hesitance was upsetting her...but he couldn't betray Yugi like this, either.  Ugh!  It was a no win situation.

Finally, he stirred himself.

“Well, I guess...let's go?”

“R-right.”

He walked over to the door—and promptly tripped on his own hurried footsteps.  He managed to catch himself before he tumbled on to his face, but he bobbed back up with a heat exploding across his cheeks.  Mana clapped a hand to her mouth, and her shoulders were shaking just the tiniest bit.  Oh man.  He had really screwed that up.

“Uh...gravity works,” he said lamely.

Mana burst out laughing.  It was a big laugh, too, one of those ones that made her whole body shake up and down, her cheeks deepening with the exertion, tears springing to her eyes.  Yami no Yugi found himself laughing too.  He was almost doubling over—his stomach was actually starting to hurt!

It was like all of the tension had broken.  What was coming out of them was not just laughter, it was a release.  All of the buildup and uncertainty and nervousness, it all just rolled out of them, two silly teens standing in front of the cafe laughing their heads off, drawing weird stares from the few people that passed by.

Finally, their giggles died down, and Mana wiped a couple tears from her eyes.  Yami had to grab the handle of the door to support himself; his torso ached from the long laughter.

“That wasn't even that funny,” Mana giggled.

“I know.”

“But we couldn't stop laughing.”

“I couldn't stop because you kept going.”

“I kept laughing because you were!”

Yami no Yugi laughed again, a shorter, much more relaxed one.

“Well, Princess Laughter, shall we get something to eat, or stand out here and laugh some more?  I don't think we've scarred enough passersby yet.”

“My kingdom of laughs is most satisfied with our offering already!” Mana said, still snickering.  “So yeah, let's get food.  I need to replace all the calories I just burned.”

Yami no Yugi pulled open the door, grinning widely as he bowed deeply.

“After you, princess.”

“Why thank you!”

Mana put on her best 'flouncing like royalty' pose as she bounced through the door, prompting another laugh from Yami no Yugi.  Then he followed her in.  The pair wandered up towards the counter.

“I want a pie,” Mana announced, as they hung back to look at the menu on the far wall.

“We haven't even had lunch yet,” Yami no Yugi teased.

“I don't care; it's Christmas Eve and I want pie.”

“Are you the Princess of Sweet Teeth too?”

“Maybe I am!  And you can be the Prince of Chocolate.”

Yami no Yugi snorted with a smile.

“Why chocolate?”

“I dunno.  Because I like chocolate, and I like you?”

She shifted back and forth on her feet, staring at the menu.  It was only then that Yami no Yugi really realized what she had said, and yet another blush exploded over his cheeks.

_ That's not what she meant, that's not what she meant, that's not what she meant _ , he thought frantically.

Mana didn't elaborate though, biting her lip and looking pouty.

“I don't know what to get,” she said.  “They all sound good.”

“Oh, look—there's a pomegranate tart.  Pomegranate is your favorite, right?”

Mana's eyes brightened.

“They didn't have that last time; it must be new!” she said excitedly.  “Yeah!  Never mind pie,  _ that's _ what I want!”

Yami no Yugi grinned as she scurried up to order not one, but two pomegranate tarts from the teenage boy behind the counter.  He hadn't quite decided what he wanted...

“Oh, Yami!  Look, look, they have new chocolate-date truffles too!  Dates are your favorite fruit, aren't they?”

Yami brightened a bit.  Dates were in fact one of his favorite foods, although Yugi didn't like them much; so he didn't get a chance to eat them too often.  Although, would it be mean of him to eat that and then have Yugi possibly have to deal with the aftertaste later?  He'd wash it down with a hot chocolate, he thought.  He really did feel hungry, and chocolate-date truffles sounded fantastic.

“I'll have one of those, then,” he said, approaching the counter.

“Get two orders, so I can have a bite,” Mana said.

“Oh?  And is that why you ordered two tarts, so that you can share with me?”

“Wellll since you asked so nicely I guess I can share,” Mana said.

They grinned at each other, and then finished off their order with two hot chocolates.  There was a warmth between them that was growing by the second, and Yami no Yugi was enjoying it immensely.

_ I wasn't supposed to be enjoying myself... _

But he couldn't help it.  Being here, with her, laughing over dumb jokes and ordering sweet things together to share, he felt like he was floating.  It was so free and easy when he was with her.

They got their desserts and drinks, and found a small booth in the back where they slid in on opposite sides of the table.

Mana pulled off her mittens, tossed them aside, and attacked her first tart, getting the juice all over her lips.

“So goooood,” she said, closing her eyes with happiness.

“Careful there,  _ zakuro-chan _ , you're going to get that all over your coat.”

“I'm being carefullll.”

Yami no Yugi grinned as he popped a date into his mouth.  Mmmm.  Perfect.  The chocolate and the fruit just went so well together.

“Good eye, by the way, on seeing the dates on the menu,” Yami no Yugi said.  “Thanks.”

“Well you found the pomegranate for me, so we're even!  Speaking of which, wanna try a bite?”

“Oh, sure.”

Mana poked a bite onto her fork.  But she didn't pass the silverware to him, she just bypassed his hand and popped it right into his mouth.  He jumped a bit, and almost swallowed too quickly.

“M-Mana,” he mumbled through a full mouth.

“Is it good?”

He managed to regain his composure and chewed.  Yeah, it really  _ was _ good.  He swallowed, and smiled.

“Delicious,” he said.  “Want a date?”

“Yeah!”

She reached out for one, but Yami no Yugi smirked mischievously and followed her example, reaching over to poke the date into her mouth.

“Heeeyyy, no fair!” she mumbled.

But then she just grinned cross-eyed at him, and finished chewing the bite.

“Dates are sooo sugary,” she sighed.  “Maybe I should have gotten an order of those too!”

“There's plenty if you want to share.”

“Ah, thanks!”

She snuck another one off of his plate and grinned at him as she bit into it.

“Oy, don't eat all of them, or I'll steal your tart.”

“Not my precious pomegranate!” she said dramatically, pretending to hunch over it with both arms and hide it from his sight.

They chewed in silence for a moment, just enjoying the food and the silence.  Yami no Yugi swallowed another bite, smiling slightly to himself.  Then a thought occurred to him.

“Hey, Mana...how did you know that dates were my favorite?”

Mana blinked with her fork halfway to her mouth.  Her brow furrowed.

“Huh,” she said.  “I dunno...how did you know mine was pomegranate?”

Yami no Yugi hesitated.  He...actually had no idea.  They stared at each other for a moment.  Then Mana laughed, a somewhat nervous sound.

“We must have talked about fruit at some point,” she said.  “It wouldn't be the weirdest conversation starter, right?”

“I guess...”

He stared down at his food, not quite ready to start eating it again.  Mana did too, setting her fork slowly back down.  The silence thrummed between them for a moment.

“....we've never talked about fruit together, have we?” Mana said quietly.

“I don't think so.”

“Somehow we both just knew.”

“...yeah.”

He heard Mana's feet squeak on the floor.

“You know...I don't think that's that weird,” she whispered.

Yami no Yugi glanced up at her.  She was still staring at her plate.  Her eyes seemed...far away.

“Because sometimes...sometimes I feel like I've just known you forever,” said Mana.  “And not just in the metaphorical way, in like...the real way.  I see things and I think of you immediately, like we've done something before.  Sometimes...I feel like I'm having—”

“Deja vu, right?” he said softly.

She nodded.

Then she sighed, and looked out the window.  He could see her eyes in the glass, distant and uncertain.

“It's like this is one big dream,” she said.  “Like I'm just...drifting, you know?  Weird things like us knowing each other's favorite fruit happen and I just don't question it.  I see you and you just seem to belong here, like in a dream when you see a face that you shouldn't know but you feel like you do in the dream.”

“Yeah,” Yami no Yugi said.  “And you see things that don't make sense and yet...they do.”

He was thinking of the flowers that had seeming been growing out of the snow, or the sound of the flower shop's chime in the park, far, far away from the shop itself.

Mana turned, then, meeting gazes with Yami no Yugi.

“I feel like I've always known you,” she whispered.  “From the very beginning.  But I've never been able to...quite understand why...”

Her brow furrowed.  She looked so—scared, all of a sudden.

“What if this isn't real?  What if I'm dreaming all of this?” she whispered.

Yami no Yugi reached out instinctively, putting his hand on top of hers.

“This is real,” he said.

_ It's not, though, is it? _

“I promise you, this is real.  I'm real.  And you're real.”

_ This is what Cadence has been trying to say from the beginning. _

“Are you sure?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

_ Somehow this is a dream.  But a waking one. _

_ But why?  Why this?  Why her? _

_ It's not fair. _

He forced the biggest, cheeriest smile he could muster.

“I one hundred percent promise you that this is real.”

He squeezed her hand.

She felt real.  So why...why the warnings?  Why the strangeness...everywhere?  Why Cadence's animosity?

Mana was real, wasn't she?

She had to be.

What was going on in this town?

His jaw tightened.  He wasn't going to do this.  He wasn't going to sit here and see Mana look so nervous and scared.

“Come on,” he said.  “Finish your tart, and we're going to go look at Christmas lights.  Sound like fun?”

She still looked uncertain, but she nodded.  They finished their sweets and drinks quickly.  Then they rose as one and exited the cafe, back out into the bitter cold where a wind was starting to pick up.

“Look at that,” Yami no Yugi said.  “That barber shop made their pole thing into a candy cane.”

“Yeah...” Mana said.

No good.  She still looked upset.  Yami no Yugi pressed his lips together, looking around for more interesting things to cheer her up.  Nothing sprung out at him, though; it was all pretty standard fare in terms of Christmas lights.

Oh!  What about the tree?

“Have you gone to see the tree all lit up yet?”

“Oh, no, I haven't...everything's been happening all at once, you know?”

“Then let's go!”

He grabbed her hand and started to jog down the sidewalk.

“Eep!  Y-Yami, what are you—”

“We're running, what does it look like?” he said, grinning back at her.

“But why?”

“Why not?”

She smiled a little uncertainly—but it was a smile!

“There we go!” he said, turning back to face forward.

“Huh?  What?”

“You smiled!  I got you to smile.”

He didn't look back at her, but he thought she was grinning again.  Because then she picked up the pace and it was her dragging him instead, not letting go of his hand.  They barreled down the street like a couple of five year olds, starting to giggle as they reached the end where the giant tree stood, the lights twinkling against the already slowly darkening sky.

Yami staggered to a stop.  His hand slipped out of Mana's and he bent over, hands on his knees to gasp for breath.  Mana was giggling between gasps.  Man the air was cold.  It hurt to breathe—but he was smiling anyway.

“You goose,” Mana said between heavy breaths.  “If you were trying to cheer me up you could have picked something involving less charging around.”

“But I thought that was your favorite way of cheering up,” Yami no Yugi said with a grin.  “You love dragging me around, don't you?”

“Only cause you're such a glum gloomy face all the time!  So serious and stuff.  I gotta do something!”

They both had already realized—they were talking about things to each other that they shouldn't know, things that didn't make sense in the context of having known each other for only a few weeks.

But neither of them cared.  They just...smiled at each other across the way.

“Thank you, Yami,” she whispered.

“You too,” he whispered back.

They both straightened up and stared at the Christmas tree together.  It really was huge.  At least fifteen, twenty feet tall.

Mana silently slipped her hand into Yami no Yugi's.  He did not jerk away.  This felt too precious.  He didn't want to let go of her.  He wanted to be selfish, just this once.

“This is real, right?” she whispered.

“It's real,” he said, fiercely.  As though he could make it real for certain.  It wasn't just a dream.

“Because I feel like...like something here isn't real.  Maybe not the whole thing.  But like just one thing is a dream.”

She squeezed his hand.

“I don't want it to be you.”

Yami no Yugi gripped her hand tighter, feeling the warmth through the mitten of her fingers.  Real.  She was real.  This was real.  He could feel the cold and see the lights and smell the crisp snowy smell and hear her breath beside him, sending puffs of steam into the air.

Real.  This was real.

She was starting to shake.  He could feel it through her hand.  Yami no Yugi turned, then, pulling her against him on instinct alone.  She hiccuped in his grip, squeezing her arms around his waist.  He gripped her shoulders.

Real.  She felt real.   _ This had to be real. _

Why was it that Cadence appeared in the back of his mind, then?  Her words, echoing and clattering in the recesses of his brain.  He wondered if it echoed for Yugi, too, where he was nestled deep inside his soul room...that was the thought that brought a sneaking guilt back.  For both Cadence and Yugi.

_ Cadence just wants to protect her friend _ , he thought.   _ And...and what am I doing with Yugi's body? _

But he was so far.  He didn't want to turn back again, not with Mana in his arms, feeling so  _ right _ .  He didn't want to let go.

“Don't let go,” she whispered suddenly, desperately, hands curling into his coat.  “Don't let go.  Don't disappear.”

“I won't.  I won't,” he whispered back.

She looked up at him, then, Christmas lights reflected in her eyes like stars.  He couldn't look away from her.  In the light of the Christmas tree, outlining her beautiful tan skin with glimmers of gold...in that moment, he realized that he had never seen anyone so beautiful.

She smiled, hesitantly.

“Do you promise?” she whispered.  “Promise that you won't disappear.”

“I...”

They were moving closer.  He couldn't tear away from her eyes.

“Mana...”

Close, they were so close, now, their noses were brushing together.  This was right, they had done this before, and he wanted, no,  _ needed _ to do it again, to meet her lips with his and close his eyes and just sink into the moment, melting into her, the eternal spot of light and joy and cheer and happiness that he never wanted to let go, melding into her until for at least a few heartbeats they were one person—

_ Yugi. _

Yami no Yugi jerked back.  His heart leapt, mouth dry.  Mana stumbled a bit with him gone from her grip, looking confused.

“Yami?” she asked.

Oh god, no, her eyes—she looked hurt but she was trying to hide it, was that a tear in the corner of her eye?

“I—sorry,” said Yami no Yugi.  “I, uh...my button pinched me.”

She wasn't buying it.  He could see the way her fingers tightened slightly, the quiet way she ducked her head and then...

She smiled.

He could actually feel his heart shattering.  This was not her usual, cheerful, bright, happy, kind, incarnation of joy itself kind of smile.  It was...sad.  Understanding and...defeated.  Like she was resigning herself.

Oh god, no.  He had—he had done the one thing he didn't want to do; he had  _ hurt _ her...

“I...I'm sorry, I need to use the bathroom, I'll be right back, I swear.”

He had to go.  He had to get away from this—he didn't want to leave her, he shouldn't leave her, oh god, he was messing everything up.  Mana was hurt, and he was misusing Yugi's body, he was doing everything  _ wrong. _

He hesitated a half second longer.  Then he ducked around the Christmas tree, trying not to look into Mana's hurt eyes, not waiting for a response from her.

He couldn't go any farther, though.  As soon as he was out of sight, he felt his legs threatening to give out.  Bile rose in his throat and he pressed a hand to his mouth.

A dry sob escaped him.

_ I'm a goddamn failure _ , he thought.   _ I can't do anything right outside of a goddamn duel. _

He should have never taken over Yugi's body on the train.  Then it would have been Yugi she met.  And nothing would have happened and she could have gone on with her life as usual.

“I shouldn't have done this,” he whispered.  “I shouldn't have gone this far; I shouldn't have even met her—”

“Is that what you think?”

Yami no Yugi startled upwards.

Dawn was staring at him—when had she gotten here?  And how?  He hadn't heard her coming up; hadn't noticed her moving this close.

“I...what?” he said.

“Do you really believe that?  Do you really believe that you should have never met Mana?”

“I...”

Yami no Yugi almost choked on his words.  He covered his mouth again and stared at the ground.

“Are you telling me that nothing was worth it?  That meeting her was a mistake?  That you want to erase all the times you've had with her so far?”

“I—no!  No, that's not what I want!”

It came out like the crack of a whip, harsher than he had intended, but Dawn didn't even flinch.  Her eyes snapped to his, holding his gaze firmly.  He couldn't tear his eyes away—those peridot eyes holding his with such ferocity.

“Then why are you holding back?” she whispered.  “Don't you love her?”

It was starting to snow.

The whole world seemed...muffled.  The sky was already almost full dark, and there were only a few distant people making their way down the sidewalks home.  This town was so  _ quiet. _

He took a long, long moment to process Dawn's question.

“Yes,” he said then.  And he realized it was true.  “Yes, I—I love Mana.”

He wanted to be with her.  He wanted to see her smiling, wanted to hold her and press his lips to hers and then chase her around the Christmas tree laughing, playing an impromptu, immature game of tag.  He wanted to be stupid and silly with her.  Make faces at her to hear her laugh.  Hold her hand on cold, dark nights like this one and lean his head against hers.

“So why won't you tell her?” Dawn said.

“Because—Dawn, I don't belong here.  I'm not—I'm not  _ real. _ ”

He sobbed, closing his eyes.

It was the truth.  He was nothing more than a ghost.  A lingering memory of someone long gone.  He would have to leave someday.  He knew it.

“So?” said Dawn.

Yami no Yugi shook his head.

“I'll have to break my promise.  I'll have to leave her.  I can't—I can't do that to her.”

“So you leave her now instead?  Listen to me.  It doesn't matter.  What matters is taking hold of the time that you have, instead of thinking about what will be gone in the future.”

It made sense, but—  Yami no Yugi shook his head, feeling the tears starting to roll down his cheeks.  Frustrated, angry tears.

“I can't do this to Yugi,” he said, hollowly.  “I can't.”

Dawn actually smiled.

“Is that really all?” she said.

“It's not a tiny thing,” said Yami no Yugi.  “This isn't—it's not my body.  I'm just a parasite, really.  I don't have the right to—”

Dawn actually put a finger on his lips to silence him.

“Oh, pharaoh,” she whispered.  “This is a dream, remember?  Magic works better in dreams.”

She moved her hand up to cover his eyes.

“Close your eyes.”

“I—”

“Just do it.”

He frowned, but let his eyes flutter shut.  He felt Dawn's hands resting on his forehead, warm in comparison to the cold air.  She started to mumble, indistinct, intelligible sounds.  He felt, somehow, that even if she had spoken clearly, he wouldn't have understood the words.

And then he felt his chest  _ jump— _

He gasped, his chest tightening for a second.  Was he having a heart attack?

But the pain faded immediately, and he just felt...dizzy.

A cough brought him back to his senses.  His eyes fluttered open, blurred for a moment.  Was there—yeah, there was someone else standing next to Dawn now, shoulders shaking from another cough.  He was really short, barely reaching Dawn's chin...

He snapped to alertness.

_ “Yugi?” _ he whispered.

Yugi blinked through snowflakes that had fallen on his eyelashes.  His brow furrowed, and then his eyes widened.

“Other me,” he whispered, awed.  “You're...wow.”

“What?  I'm what?  What happened?”

Had he been knocked out of control and was watching Yugi as a spirit?  No, that wasn't it.  He could still feel the cold air and his dry throat, the tears freezing to his face.  He poked at his own cheek—and then hesitated, staring at his hand.

It wasn't Yugi's hand.

This hand was...a little more elongated, he thought.  It was missing some of the childish pudge that Yugi still had in his fingers.  And it was a deep, burnished bronze.

He sucked in a breath.

“Have a look, pharaoh,” Dawn said.  She was smiling as she pointed to the darkened window of a nearby shop.

Yami no Yugi whipped around.  His mouth dropped open.

The face staring at him was...not Yugi's.  He was a little taller than Yugi, by an inch or two.  His skin, a deep tan like Mana's, as though—as though from the same place.  His hair had the same style, save for the additional golden spikes from his bangs, but they somehow seemed...deeper in color.  His face was more angled than Yugi's, his body a bit leaner and longer.  The only familiar aspect of that face was the crimson eyes, a color that Yugi's eyes took on whenever he had been in control.

He touched his own face.   _ His  _ face.

He whipped to face Dawn again.  She was grinning.

“Like it?” she said.  “It's only for the night, you know.  Until Christmas morning.  That's as long as my spell will last.”

“This is...this is what I looked like?” Yami no Yugi whispered.  He could barely get the words out, his voice was hoarse.

“Yup,” said Dawn.  “Although you looked a lot more king-y then.  With the tunic and crown and stuff.  Thought the winter gear was still appropriate, you know?”

Her smile dropped then.

“We're making her wait,” she said.  “Are you ready, now?”

Mana.

He felt his chest tighten at the memory of her eyes.  Hurt.  Broken.  Did he have the right to go back to her?

“She wants you,” said Dawn.

Yami no Yugi felt dizzy.  This was—weird.  Was this body really his?  He could barely wrap his mind around the concept.  His eyes flicked to Yugi for some kind of encouragement.  His other self smiled—a bright, dazzling smile.

“There's nothing wrong,” he said.  “I can't hold you back now, okay?  You have your own body right now.  Don't make her wait anymore, okay, other me?”

A smile tugged at Yami no Yugi's lips.  He looked down at his hand again for a moment— _ his  _ hand.  His heart leapt at the thought.

Then he stepped forward and hugged Yugi quickly.  It felt weird.  He and Yugi had never really been able to touch before.  Was his partner really so small?

“Thank you, partner,” he said.  “For everything you've done.”

“I haven't done anything,” Yugi said.  “And I didn't care about you kissing her with my body, you know.  That was  _ you  _ being weird.”

Yami no Yugi chuckled.

“All right, all right.  I won't make more mistakes this time.”

He broke away, holding Yugi's shoulders for a moment.  Yugi smiled up at him.

“Go make her smile,” he said.

“I will.”

He glanced at Dawn.

“Thank you—”

“Enough!!” Dawn said.  “Geez!  Just go get her before she runs off crying!  She won't wait forever!”

“R-Right.”

Yami no Yugi didn't hesitate further.  He turned and ran.  Bolting around the Christmas tree, looking for her, feeling, for the first time,  _ free _ .  Joy exploded through him.

He could hold her.  He could hold her and not feel guilty.  He could reach out to her as himself, for the first time.  She could see him how he was supposed to be for the first time. 

Mana wasn't waiting at the Christmas tree.

Joy was replaced with panic.  He spun in a circle.  Where had she gone?  Oh, stupid, stupid, stupid, of course she hadn't waited!  Of course she had left!  He had practically snubbed her!  She wouldn't understand the reasoning.  Oh no, no no—

“Yami...?”

Yami no Yugi spun around.

Mana stood a few feet away, a pair of sodas clutched in her hands.  They stared at each other for a long, long moment.

Then she ducked her head, smiling sheepishly.

“Oh, there you are!  Sorry, I just thought—I was kinda thirsty and thought you might be too when you got back, so I got us something from the vending machine, but wow, you look winded?  You okay?”

Yami no Yugi swallowed.

“Mana...” he murmured.  “I...”

He stepped forward.  She blinked, looking up at him.  If she was still hurt, she didn't show it.  Mana.  Beautiful, kind, precious Mana, trying to wave off what had just happened.  Because she still wanted to be friends, she didn't want this to be weird.  Somehow he just knew that was what she was thinking.

Yami no Yugi wrapped his arms around her shoulder and buried his face into her hair.  Mana stiffened for a second.

“Um...Yami?”

“Mana...can you forgive me?”

“For...for what?”

Yami no Yugi breathed deep, taking in the scent of her.  Then he stepped back, still holding her shoulders, so that he could stare into her eyes.

“For being stupid,” he said.  “And leaving you there.  I promised I wouldn't, but I did.  Can you forgive me?”

Mana's eyes shone with tears, a smile breaking across her face.

“I guess I could,” she said, throat choked.  “But you gotta make it up to me, mister.”

He laughed softly, feeling everything inside of him untangle.

“Can I assume I know how you want me to do that?”

“I think you can.”

She ended up kissing him first.

Her on her tiptoes, since he was actually a little bit taller than her now, him leaning down into her, lips pushing against each other and noses bopping together awkwardly.  She still tasted like pomegranate.

She dropped both sodas and neither of them noticed.  It was like the world ceased to exist, except for the two of them, mashed together in an awkward hug and kiss, as though they were simply trying to meld together into one being.

This was right.  This was something he had done before.

They broke away, then, gasping for breath, heat rising from their cheeks.  Mana's hand slid down his cheek.

“You know,” she whispered.  “You finally look like you're supposed to.”

He smiled, hugging her tighter.

“I finally feel like I'm supposed to.”

And then they leaned in towards each other to kiss once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aster = love


	20. ~interlude~ Mistletoe of an Elder Spirit and a Younger Spirit

This would probably be the first Christmas she spent by herself, she thought.  But she quickly pushed the thought away, because it was a selfish one, and she knew better than that.

Anzu sighed softly, her breath fluttering into the air like smoke.  The sun was already beginning to set.  She could have stayed in her room, she supposed.  What with everything going on, it might be...safer.

But she didn't want to hole herself up, even if being out in this cold, dark, Christmas Eve night just made her feel worse about being by herself.

There were lots of people out tonight.  She watched them shuffle past her on the sidewalk, her back pressed to the lit up window of a toy shop, arms hugging herself tightly because even with the new black coat, she was till cold.  She saw groups of high schoolers jogging through the snow, laughing and shouting at each other, older couples holding hands with cups of hot chocolate in their other hands, a group of last minute shoppers chattering very quickly as they hurried through the streets with their bags.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the window behind her.  Even with all the activity, Christmas in England seemed a lot more low-key than Christmas back home.  Back in Domino, Anzu would have probably been out at karaoke or something.  Even when she had lived in America, things had seemed a bit more lively.  She supposed it didn't help that this was the first year she could remember spending Christmas Eve by herself.  Most years, she had a group to go with, or at the very least she went somewhere for dinner with her father.

_ I should have just stayed back in the room and read a book or something _ , she thought, feeling bitter in spite of herself.  She wished that the boys had invited her to come along with them, but she had a feeling they had assumed she had plans already.  Hell, she wouldn't even mind Kaiba's company at this point.  She wondered vaguely for a moment what he was up to—he had been even more distant than usual after that blow-up about that...about what, again?  The name slipped just out reach of her mind, although she vaguely recalled something about pale blue hair, perhaps?

Her head felt fuzzy all of a sudden and she closed her eyes, trying to clear it.  She was thinking too hard tonight.  It wasn't healthy.  If she was just going to sit here and stew, then she should probably just go back and sleep.  Or do something.  Anything.  Something to get her mind off of the real reason why she was feeling sad...

Her heart panged, then, and she squeezed her eyes even further shut.

She wondered, for a moment, what the two of them were doing now—Yami no Yugi and Mana.  Her heart wrenched again and she hugged herself tighter.  Oh, god, she was such a bitch to feel upset about this.  She  _ liked  _ Mana.  Mana was the female friend that Anzu had always wished she had around more often; when Anzu was always stuck with just boys all the time, it was so refreshing to have a female friend to talk to about something.  She was so bright, so cheerful, so kind, so exuberant—Anzu  _ loved _ being around her.

She really couldn't blame Yami no Yugi for falling for her.

But it was hard to not blame herself for feeling jealous about it.

Anzu laughed hollowly, letting her chin fall on her chest for a moment.  Then she started to rub at her eyes, as though that could stop the tears from starting.

“I'm such a bitch,” she whispered.  “I'm sorry, Mana, Other Yugi...”

She wasn't angry.  She guessed she was just...sad.  Because she knew that...well, maybe her feelings had just been a passing crush, anyway.  It was okay.  She was glad if they were both happy.

She just...she didn't want to be...all by herself...

She heard the crunching of someone running through the snow, then, but paid no attention to it; probably someone trying to catch up with their friends...

“O-Oh!  Anzu!!”

Anzu's head jerked up and her eyes flew open.

Yugi was skidding to a stop in front of her, looking as surprised as she felt.  It was little Yugi, definitely, there was no mistaking the softness of his expression or the more gentle, unassuming way he carried himself, the way that he somehow seemed a little smaller than the other Yugi, and especially the fact that his eyes were a deep violet instead of crimson.

“I—I thought you were at the hotel,” he said.

His cheeks were flushing and he was breathing so hard that the puffs of steam came in big, swirling gusts from his lips.

“I thought you were with—” Anzu started.  “Oh, no, you didn't leave Mana?  He didn't chicken out, did he?  Let him come out for a second, I need to give him a piece of my mind!!—”

For a moment, her hands curled into fists and her jaw clenched, because jealous or not, if the other Yugi had chickened out and left Mana behind in the middle of the date and probably left her there with that fake smile and trying not to cry then so help her—

“N-no, that's not it, that's not it at all!” Yugi said, waving his hands wildly.  “I promise, I definitely wouldn't let him do that!”

“But you're here now, so...?” Anzu said, brow furrowing.

Yugi laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, it's—it's a little complicated, but I guess—he and I are separate for the night.  Just for the night, though, and I don't really know how it worked, but he's still back there with Mana, and I thought I'd go find you because I didn't want to be a third wheel and also it sounded like you were going to be by yourself tonight and I didn't want to leave you and—”

“Whoa, whoa,” Anzu said.  “Slow down, and breathe in between, Yugi.  Don't choke.”

She had to smile as she said this, though, because it was just so like Yugi.  The way that he tried to talk all at once, his words falling over each other in his haste to get everything out.  That deep blush that crossed his cheeks when she told him to slow down, that tiny, hesitant smile in response to her smile.

“Okay, right,” he said, smiling sheepishly.  “But, well...Dawn did something, and the two of us are in separate bodies tonight.”

“She—what?  How?”

“I don't really know myself,” said Yugi.  “But—oh, look, I think you can see them from here!”

He pointed down the road, and Anzu followed his gaze.

She drew in a breath.

Even from this distance, she could tell.  There was no mistaking that spiky hair or that easy, confident bearing.  No mistaking the fact that that distinctive silhouette was holding hands with the bouncing shape of Mana.  Anzu looked between Yugi, and the shadow, and Yugi, and the shadow, and back and forth several times.

“Whoa,” was all she could say.

“I know, right?  I'm still feeling kinda dizzy.”

Anzu blinked a few times very quickly.

“So you guys...you're not...in the same body anymore?”

“Not for tonight...Dawn said that was as long as it would last.”

“Like Cinderella?” said Anzu.  She almost had to laugh at how ridiculous this was, and how easily she was accepting it.  Well, it probably wasn't the weirdest thing she had ever seen or experienced.  “So right now...you're just...you?”

Yugi blinked up at her.  Then he smiled, eyes softening, as though he completely understood what she meant.

“It feels weird,” he admitted.  “I'm so used to him being in my head.”

“It kind of feels somehow different on my end, too,” she whispered.  “There's something...different about you...not bad, not bad, I didn't meant that!”

“No, no, I understand!  I feel...I don't know how to say it.  Like me.  Not that it's bad to share space with him, because I care about him and he makes me feel strong and confident.  But for now I just feel...like I'm really just me for once.  We're not two halves of the same thing right now.  We just get to be ourselves, without anyone watching.”

He blushed as he smiled.

“It's a weird feeling, I'm sorry.  It probably doesn't make sense to explain, and you probably don't really care...”

“Oh, Yugi,” she said, putting her hands on his shoulders.  “Of course I care.  You're my best friend...and it  _ does _ make sense.”

She smiled, hesitant.

“I'm...I guess I'm glad.”

Yugi blinked up at her, curious.

“Glad about what?”

She ducked her head, hands sliding off of his shoulders.  Gosh, it sounded so selfish now that she said it.

“I guess I was feeling a little lonely,” she whispered.  “I'm glad that you...that you can be here.”

Her eyes wandered down towards Mana and Yami no Yugi, who were far enough away by now that she couldn't see their shadows very clearly anymore.  Then her eyes slid back to Yugi, her Yugi, the tiny boy with the cheerful smile that she had known for so long, that had stood by her even during the times that she perhaps hadn't stood by him, who always had a smile for her, no matter how bad things got.  The closest friend she had ever had.

All of a sudden, she didn't feel so jealous of Mana anymore.  There was a warmth blossoming in her chest that she couldn't describe.

Yugi smiled, and it was the brightest thing she had ever seen.

“That was the only thing I was worried about tonight,” he breathed.  “I mean, I wanted other me and Mana to get together but I...I didn't want you to be by yourself.”

“Oh, Yugi, you didn't have to worry about me,” Anzu said quickly.

“But I did—because you're my  _ friend _ , Anzu.  And I should have thought harder about leaving you by yourself on a night like tonight.”

Anzu could not stop herself from smiling, couldn't stop the tiny tears from growing at the corners of her eyes.

“Oh, you,” she muttered. “You've always been too sweet, you know that?”

“It's a talent,” he said, and they both laughed.

Both of them fell silent, then, uncertain for a moment.

Then Yugi's eyes lit up and he dug into his coat pocket for a moment.

“Oh!  And before I forget!” he said, pulling out a small box.  “I got something for you!”

“Oh, you didn't!” said Anzu.  “Yugi, you—goodness.”

She blushed as she accepted the little box.  She had, of course, gotten Yugi something too—she had bought something for everyone, but everyone wasn't here right now, and she was kind of carrying all these little wrapped presents in her purse for nothing—or so she had thought, until Yugi showed up.

“Hold on, I have something for you too,” she said.

“A-Anzu, you didn't have to...”

“You didn't have to either, dork,” she said as she rummaged in her purse.  “Here, we can open them together.”

Yugi's blush was so deep that his entire face was red when she handed the small wrapped gift to him.  He muttered a very tiny squeak of a thank you that made Anzu giggle in spite of herself.

They both hesitated for a moment, and then almost as one they began to unwrap the small gifts.  Anzu drew in a breath at the elegant necklace, with the golden sphere like acacia blossoms alternating with silver links.

“Oh, Yugi,” she said.  “It's so  _ beautiful _ .”

“W-well, you said you liked acacias,” he said, still unwrapping his very slowly.  “I thought you might like it...”

“Yugi, I  _ love _ it!” she said.  “Oh, gosh.  It's so lovely...”

She pulled it out of the box and let it dangle from her fingers, catching the light of the Christmas lights in the window behind and sending glimmers of silver and gold across her coat.  She admired it for a moment longer before she glanced down to see Yugi's expression when he finished unwrapping the little pouch.  For a moment, he cocked his head at the small wrapped pouch, turning it over in his hands, before he saw the tag attached to it.

“It's a planting bulb,” he said, looking up at her.  “Filled with seeds.”

“I thought we should bring some flowers home,” she said, blushing.  “I chose different seeds for everyone...I hope you don't think it's too silly...”

“Anzu, it's perfect!” he said, smiling brightly.  “I'll put them in a pot in my room—it'll look so nice when they all bloom!  Thank you!”

Anzu flushed again, ducking her head.

“I'm glad you like them,” she said shyly.  “I wasn't sure—I mean, boys don't tend to like flowers as much but...”

“Anzu, I  _ like _ it.  You don't have to keep justifying it,” he said, laughing as he hugged her tightly around the waist.  “I can't wait to see what flowers you picked!”

She blushed, then, because she was thinking about how she had made a pouch for everyone.  Everyone—other Yugi included.  How she had wrapped them each in a different paper so that she would remember whose was whose.

And how the one she had just given Yugi, only needing a second to think about it, was a little red wrapped one.  Not a purple wrapped one.  A pouch that held an entirely different set of feelings—but ones, that, suddenly, she knew she wanted to give to  _ this _ Yugi.

“W-want to help me put on the necklace?” she asked, trying not to show her blush any more than usual.

“O-oh, sure,” Yugi said.

He tucked his pouch very carefully into his coat pocket, and then came around behind Anzu as she crouched a bit so he could reach her, helping her clasp the necklace on.  His fingers were a bit clumsy, and they giggled more than once as the clasp refused to close.  But then she was wearing it, finally, the gold and silver gleaming against her black coat.  They stood next to each other for a moment, against the window, not really speaking.  She was touching the necklace idly, and his hand was on his pocket with the pouch inside.

“So, Anzu-chan...” Yugi asked suddenly, quietly.  “Um...do you want...I mean, is it okay if...if we just hang out tonight?”

Anzu smiled, feeling warmth traveling all through her again.

“I'd like that,” she said.  “I'd like that a lot.”

His smile was always just the biggest, best thing she ever saw, ever.  Then, without thinking about it, she slipped her gloved hand into his.  He hesitated, but—it felt right.  So neither let go.

Anzu sighed softly, her breath spiraling into the air, feeling Yugi's warm hand in hers.

It was a good night after all, she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mistletoe = kiss me, to surmount difficulties


	21. The Disappearing Sweet Pea

They were holding hands and it was the best feeling he had ever had in the world.

There was no guilt or worry involved.  For the first time, he was himself, completely, and he was with her.

“So what do you want to do?” Yami no Yugi asked.

“Let’s just walk,” she said, her face still warm and bright after that probably too long kiss (if people had been around, they probably would have given them dirty looks, but the square was oddly empty—he wasn’t complaining).  “Or just sit here and talk.  I’m just…I don’t know.”

She giggled, and he had to laugh too.  He felt like he was walking on air.

“Sitting and talking is good,” he said.  “Walking is good.  Anything’s good.”

“You’re silly,” she said.

“Only when I’m around you.  Your silliness rubs off on me.”

She giggled and slid her arm around his waist, nestling her face into his shoulder.  He in turn moved his arm across her shoulders so that they were pressed together, a spot of warmth in the cold.

“I like you,” she whispered.  “A lot.”

“I like you a lot too,” he whispered back.

“I’m really glad that we met.”

“Me too.”

She hesitated for a moment, glancing at the fallen sodas that she had dropped during their first kiss.

“I bet if we opened those, they’d shoot up really high,” she said.

He grinned mischievously at her.

“Wanna try?”

Her eyes sparkled.

“Bet mine goes higher,” she said, snagging the one closer to her.

“I’ll bet two more sodas that you’re wrong,” he said, darting down to pick up the other one.

Mana grinned widely at him as she shook up the can for good measure.  He met her eyes straight on; this was a game and he was gonna win.

“On three, two, one, go!” she said.

They both popped open the soda tabs.  Mana squealed as the carbonation exploded over their heads in a thin mist over their heads, shooting up like mini geysers and sprinkling them with cold soda.

“Mine went higher!” she said.  “I win!”

“I dunno I think you were holding your hand a little higher, were you cheating?” Yami no Yugi teased.

She smacked him playfully on the arm.

“Shush, you said two sodas so pay up, mister.”

He laughed as he took both empty soda cans and tossed them into a bin, and then slid his hand into hers.

“Well, you know where the vending machine is, so lead on, winner.”

“Oooh, I like that, you should call me that more often.”

“Is this about me always beating you at Duel Monsters?”

“Hush, I don’t get to win much except that game and you!”

She blushed as she said this but didn’t stop smiling.  The words sent a flush across Yami no Yugi’s cheeks, and he smiled, embarrassed, as they walked around the Christmas tree and across the street to the vending machine.  Yami no Yugi fished out a couple of notes and fed them into the machine.

“So what do you want, winner?”

“Get me one of those pineapple Lilts.”

He smiled and pushed the button that would drop one down, and then after a moment of consideration chose a bottle that looked a bit like one of the C.C. Lemons he liked in Japan.  It dropped out of the machine, and he reached down to retrieve both of them, handing Mana’s to her.

“You bet two sodas, doesn’t that mean I get two?” she teased.

“Don’t push it,” he said, laughing.  “I’m not made of money.”

“Give me a sip of yours, then.  I’ve never tried that one before.”

“Sure.”

He popped off the lid and held it out.  She took it for a moment to taste it.

“Eh, guess I don’t like lemons too much,” she said.  “Pineapple is better!”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said as he took his drink back, taking a sip.

They stood there silently for a moment, their free hands still tightly together as they nursed their drinks, backs to the glowing vending machine.

“The tree looks nice,” he said softly.

“Uh-huh.”

He took a little sip of his drink.  As he shifted his weight, he felt something move in his big pockets and frowned.  He let go of Mana’s hand to reach in and check what it was…

Oh.  It was…it was Mana’s Christmas present.  Yugi had wrapped up the golden choker for him, insisting that he give it to her tonight.  With all of the confusion and magic, he had forgotten.

“Something wrong?” Mana asked.

“Oh, no, not at all,” he said.  “I…uh…here.  Merry Christmas.”

He pulled the small wrapped package from his pocket and held it out to her.  Her eyes sparkled and her cheeks darkened.

“Awww, you,” she said.  “You didn’t have to get me anything!”

“Yes, I did, you goof.  Just open it.”

She giggled as she took the package, handing her drink over to him so that she could have both hands.  She had to pull off her gloves with her teeth so that she could get at the tape.  After a few moments, she managed to pull the wrapping free from the necklace, and it lay sparkling in her palm.

“Oh,” she breathed.  “Yami…it’s so pretty…”

She turned it over in her hands, admiring the round red jewel that gleamed in the center of the gold metal.

“You like it?” he asked, feeling nervous all of a sudden.

“Yami, I love it!” she said, eyes brightening.  She threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug, almost making him drop the sodas.  “Look, look, it’s the same color as your eyes!”

She held the jewel in front of his face for a moment so that he could see.  He found another blush dancing across his cheeks.

“It's so pretty, oh my gosh!  Thank you!”

She hugged him tightly again before bouncing back down and starting to clasp the thick choker around her neck.  She hummed a Christmas carol under her breath as she did so, and once it was on, she poked at the red jewel.

“How do I look?”

“Fantastic, as always,” he said.  “It suits you...I'm glad.”

“Awwww, you're the best!”

She squeezed his hands once.  Then she bounced on her heels.

“Oh my gosh, I almost forgot in all the excitement!  I have something for you too!”

She dug in her pocket for a moment and then drew out what appeared to be an envelope wrapped messily in strips of different colored wrapping paper.

“I'm not very good at wrapping,” she said, giggling.  “And Dawn didn't have time to help me this year, so...sorry about that.”

“I like the way you wrapped it,” Yami no Yugi said.  He accepted the envelope from her and turned it over once or twice.  “It's very artistic.”

“Don't make fun,” she said, slapping him on the shoulder as he laughed again.  “Just open it!”

“I'm not, I'm not!” he said.  “I'm opening it already.”

He smiled as she pouted exaggeratedly at him, then turned the envelope over in his hands and started to work carefully at the copious amounts of tape.  He managed to get down to the actual envelope and slit it open.  He slid the slip of paper from inside free.

It was a Duel Monsters card, he realized.  An effect monster; the artwork showed a young dark skinned girl in the same art style as the Dark Magician girl, dressed all in white and gold with flowing robes.   _ Lotus Magician _ , it was called.

“Wow,” he said, turning the card so that the holographic sheen caught the light.  “Mana...it's beautiful.”

“Right??  I bought a pack or two while you were gone and I found that one!  It looks like your Dark Magician Girl, right?  Kinda?  Anyway, I thought it might work with your deck!  Read the effect!”

“ _ This card counts as two tributes for the summon of a spellcaster monster.  Once per turn, if this card is in the Graveyard, you can send one card from your deck to the Graveyard, then add one monster from your Graveyard to your hand,” _ he read.  “Wow—this is a really good card, Mana!  I've never even heard of it before!”

“Do you like it?” Mana asked, sounding suddenly anxious.

He turned to her and smiled.

“It's  _ perfect _ ,” he said.  “Thank you, so much.”

He hesitated just a brief second before he put his arms around her.

“I love it,” he said again.  “Thank you.”

“I'm so glad,” she said, hugging him back.  “Really glad.  Tonight is the best, Yami.  The best night ever.”

“Yeah,” he said as she buried her face in his chest and he could feel her warmth against him.  “It really...is....”

He closed his eyes for a moment, just so that he could remind himself that everything was real.  The cold air nipping at his skin, the warmth of her in his arms, the smell of baking things from faraway shops, the faint hint of lavender from her hair.  Real, all of this, it was real and he was here with her, and it was all he wanted in this moment.

“Mana,” he murmured.  “I...I love you.”

He heard her draw in a sharp breath.  For a moment, they were both silent, and Yami started to think perhaps he had said the wrong thing.

“I love you too,” she whispered, then, and when she pulled back a little so that she could look up at him, her eyes were filled with tears.  “I do.  I love you, Yami, I love you so much.”

She sniffled, a tear running down her cheek.  He reached out to wipe it away, cradling her face in one hand.

“You silly goose,” he said.

“I'm  _ your _ silly goose,” she giggled, another tear trickling from the corner of her eyes.  “I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying...”

“It's okay,” he said, feeling tears pricking at his own eyes, he just couldn't help them.  “You don't ever have to apologize.”

She shook her head as she nestled herself closer in his arms.

“I feel like I've been waiting so long for that,” she said.  “I haven't really known you that long but I feel like...like that's what I've been waiting to hear forever.”

“I feel like that's what I've been waiting to say forever,” he said, holding her tightly.  “I'm sorry I made you wait.”

“Just tell it to me again,” she whispered.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Snowflakes started to swirl from the sky.  Tiny, cold things that glowed in the streetlamps as they sprinkled across their hair and jackets like magic sparkles.

_ If we stand her like this too long, we'll get snowed over _ , he thought with a soft chuckle.

“What's so funny?” Mana asked.

“I was just thinking that—”

Something moved out of the corner of his eye.  What...?

For the first time, the fact that the square was completely empty of other people struck him as more than just odd—it was unsettling.  For the first time that night, he remembered that he wasn't just here because he loved Mana, although that was the main reason, but because he knew that something was wrong here and he had wanted to try and figure out what it was.

It was at that moment that he remembered the nightmares.

He reacted before his brain fully recognized what was going on.  He saw the thing swelling in the corner of an alley, saw the shadow growing upwards like a slimy pillar, grabbed Mana by the shoulder and flung her behind him as the thing lunged—

Mana screamed.  Yami no Yugi cried out as the thing latched onto his arm like some ooze monster and he could feel it burning through his skin, hot, very hot,  _ too hot— _

“Yami!  YAMI!”

“Mana, get back—”

He cried out again as the stuff seemed to sink in and meld into his skin.  His eyes were going black, he couldn't see or hear, and all he could feel was the scalding shadow on his arm and Mana grabbing his shoulders and trying to pull him free.  He thought he heard her scream again, thought he might have seen the shadow of her moving to try and smack at the thing that had grabbed him, and a burst of terror exploded in his chest because he didn't want her to touch it—

He gasped as the thing was ripped from him and he stumbled backwards.  Mana held his shoulders to keep him from sagging to the ground.  He felt dizzy and weak, like he was going to throw up.

“Yami, Yami, Yami, Yami, Yami,” she mumbled over and over, sounding frantic.  “Are you okay?  Oh my god—”

“I-I'm okay, but what about that thing—”

Cadence was standing in front of them.

She held a card between two fingers, its purple coloring shimmering in the light of the streetlamps.  In front of her, a shadow identical to the shadow that had attacked him writhed and swayed, matching the movements of the other shadow.

“Cadence, what—what's going on?” Mana said.  “What happened?  What is that thing?”

“It's just a nightmare,” said Cadence.  “It's all right, Mana.  It won't hurt you.  I promise.”

She flicked her free hand towards the shadow in front of her.

“Cyber Shadow Gardna, destroy it.”

Her shadow lunged forward, striking at the other one.  For a moment, they seemed to struggle together, although it was hard to see where one began and the other ended.  A few moments later, both collapsed in on themselves like smoke, dissipating into the cold winter air.

Silence returned to the square.

Yami no Yugi was still leaning back against Mana, her arms tight around his chest from behind as though she could hold him up all on her own.  He could feel her trembling, and raised a hand to her hands to try and quell the shiver.

“You protected us?” Yami no Yugi said.

Cadence turned her cold gaze to Yami no Yugi.

“I protected Mana,” she said.  “You're the reason these things exist.”

“Cadence, what are you talking about?” Mana said.

For a moment, Cadence hesitated, her eyes casting downwards.

“Mana, I—I'm sorry.  But this is—if you stay with him, you'll—you'll disappear.  I can't let that happen.  I've been trying to warn you.”

“Cadence?”

Mana came out from around Yami no Yugi, moving forward with one hand outstretched.

“Cadence, you're not making any sense,” she said.  “You're my best friend...I don't understand why you're doing this.”

“I'm trying to protect you—from him!  He's going to make you disappear!”

“I'm not going to stop being your friend just because I love Yami,” Mana said.  “Is that what this is about?  I'm not going to disappear or anything.”

“You—you don't understand!”

Tears were rolling down Cadence's cheeks.  She wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to look Mana in the eye.

“I just—I don't want you to go.  If you find what you're looking for, you'll go back.  And I don't—I don't want to lose you, god, Mana, I...I love you, Mana, I've loved you for so long and I don't want to see you disappear!”

She was crying so hard now that she had to put a hand over her mouth to still the sobs.  Mana's mouth half opened, eyes widening.  And then she looked down, sadly.  For a moment, they just stood there, quietly—and then Mana stepped forward, hugging Cadence to her for a moment.  Cadence cried into Mana's shoulder, her arms tightening around her waist.

“I'm sorry,” Mana whispered.  “I had no idea...”

“I can't watch you go back,” Cadence whispered.  “I can't watch that...”

Mana tightened her grip.

“Cadence, I...I'm sorry.  I love Yami.  I'm sorry that I can't return your feelings.  But you're my friend, and that's never going to change...”

“Mana...” Cadence sobbed.  “Mana, if you—this is—this is a dream.  All of this, it's a dream...I didn't know how to tell you, I didn't want to hurt you—but if you get what you came for then...then you'll wake up, and I'll never see you again.”

Mana stepped back, holding Cadence's shoulders in her hands.  She looked so uncertain, so confused.

“I don't...I don't understand...”

“It's because of him that the nightmares are coming,” Cadence said.  “Yami is the reason those shadows exist.  But if he leaves, everything can go back to normal.”

Mana hesitated.  Then she dropped her hands from Cadence's shoulders and stepped back, back towards Yami no Yugi.

“I don't...want things to go back to normal,” she said.  “I like the friends that I've made this Christmas...and I love Yami.  I don't understand what you mean, about a dream or anything, but I...I can't change that.  I'm sorry, Cadence.”

Her shoulders were trembling—she looked so scared, so uncertain.  Yami no Yugi couldn't stop himself from putting his hands on her shoulders, and she leaned back against him for support.

Cadence drew back for a moment.  She looked stricken, tears rolling down her face, eyes wide, mouth half open.

“I'm trying to protect you,” she whispered.  “I'm trying to protect you.”

“You don't have to protect me from anything,” Mana said.

Yami no Yugi had no idea what to say, what to do.  Cadence was looking more and more upset by the second and he didn't know what to do.  Was there anything he could do?  Only one thought continued to circle through his head.

_ Mana is going to disappear?  Because of me? _

_ Like Kisara? _

Cadence's eyes whipped to Yami no Yugi's.

“What about you?” she said.  “Do you really want her to disappear?  If you love her, do you really want her to disappear because of you?”

“Cadence, stop!” said Mana.

“I...” Yami no Yugi started

“Yami, no, stop, don't,” she said, whipping around and pressing herself into him.  “Even—even if I did disappear, I don't care, because I wanted to meet you.  I wouldn't trade anything that's happened for anything.”

“Mana, I...”

He didn't want her to disappear.  Could he really stop that from happening if he just...walked away?

_ Could _ he walk away?

“Please,” Cadence said, her voice cracking with desperation.   _ “Please.” _

Yami no Yugi slowly shook his head.

“I...I can't,” he said.  “I can't just...walk away from her...Cadence, I love her...you say that you love her too.  Could you walk away if she didn't want you to?”

Mana's hands tightened around his waist.

“If it was to protect her, I could,” Cadence said, although for a moment she looked uncertain.

“But I don't want you to do that!” Mana said, whipping around again to face Cadence.  “I don't want anyone to do that!  I don't want people to leave me to protect me from—whatever!  I'd rather face danger with the people I love.  I don't want to be left alone—Cadence, please.  Please,  _ stop _ .”

Cadence flinched.  Her mouth opened but no sound came out.  Finally, she stumbled back a step, looking down at the ground.  Tears dripped from her eyes onto the ground, scattering the pavement alongside snowflakes.

“I just don't want to lose you,” she said.  “I don't want to...”

Mana smiled, a quiet, teary smile.  She slipped one hand into Yami no Yugi's, and then reached out for Cadence's hand with the other, waiting for Cadence to take her hand.

“You don't have to,” she said.  “Whatever you're talking about, dream, or nightmares, or anything...I don't care.  I don't care what's going on.  But we're friends, right?  You don't have to lose me.  I'm not going anywhere.”

Cadence looked up, eyes shiny with tears.  She shook her head for a moment.

“I've been trying so hard to break you two apart,” she said.  “Because...because I was so selfish.  And I still am.  I don't want him to have you.  Why would you want to be friends with me?”

“Because we're already friends,” Mana insisted.  “I'm not going anywhere, Cadence.  I promise.   _ I promise _ .”

Cadence hesitated.  She shook her head again and sobbed, as though she knew—that no matter what Mana promised, she was going to disappear.

And Yami no Yugi was starting to suspect that she was right.

Cadence closed her eyes for a moment.  Then she half smiled.

“You're just too kind,” she muttered.  “You're too kind.  God.”

Then she opened her eyes, and slowly, slowly, started to reach for Mana's hand.

A shout rang out over the square.

“Cadence!  ABOVE YOU!” Dawn screamed.

Cadence's eyes flashed upwards, Yami no Yugi stiffened, started to pull Mana towards him—

Mana was faster.

She looked up, saw the writhing shadow lunging at them from the building, whipped around, shoved Yami no Yugi out of the way, and the shadow landed right on top of her head and  _ sank _ through her as though one or both of them were insubstantial.

Yami no Yugi hit the ground with a yelp.  Cadence was screaming, Mana was falling backwards as Cadence tried to catch her, Dawn was running towards them with her eyes wide and face pale, Yami no Yugi was scrambling to his feet, reaching for Mana's hands as her eyes widened and her face drew up as though she were seeing something  _ horrifying— _

Her eyes cleared for a moment.  They locked onto Yami no Yugi's.

“I'm not real,” she whispered, horror in her voice.

And then she was simply not there anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sweet pea = goodbye, thank you for a lovely time


	22. The Poppy of Hide and Go Seek

Yami no Yugi panicked.

He couldn't breathe.  Couldn't think.  Couldn't move, could barely see.  All he could see was the after image of Mana, an absence of her in the air in front of him, his hands half outstretched towards nothing.

Cadence was screaming.  Dawn was shouting over Cadence's hysterical shouts, trying to make herself heard.  There were footsteps scrabbling through the snow behind him, he could hear Yugi shouting, asking what was going on.  Anzu crying out if everyone was all right, what had happened?

Cadence threw herself towards Yami no Yugi, screaming,  _ “It's your fault, it's your fault.” _  Dawn clung to her arm desperately, holding her back.  Yugi was grabbing at his arm, shaking him, asking him to snap out of it, tell him what happened, what happened to Mana, Anzu is gone too and he's freaking out.  He heard it all as though through a long, deep tunnel.  Muffled, echoey, distant.

He couldn't breathe.

Mana.  Mana.  Mana.

_ Mana. _

Yugi was shaking him by the shoulders.  Begging him to respond.  Pleading with him to pull out of his reverie.  But Yami no Yugi  _ couldn't  _ respond.  He felt as though he had been stuffed with cotton.  Replaying the memory of Mana's horror struck face over and over in his mind, the last image he had of her.

No.  No.  No.

And then a much rougher hand latched onto his shoulder, whipping him around to stare into cold blue eyes that locked onto his gaze with a calm ferocity that snapped through his defenses.

Seto Kaiba stared at Yami no Yugi for a moment, face cold and hard.

And then something in his expression deflated.

“Mana disappeared, didn't she?” he said, the first thing that Yami no Yugi had heard clearly since Mana had vanished.

He could hear and see clearly again, but his voice wasn't quite back.  He only nodded mutely.

Seto stared at him for a moment longer.  Then he released Yami no Yugi's shoulder.

“Well, she's not the only one,” he said.  “Take a look.”

Yami no Yugi glanced around.

The square was completely empty.  There wasn't a single person to be seen anywhere—this wasn't just a lazy, underpopulated town, this was quite literally a ghost town.

“What happened?  Where is everyone?” Yami no Yugi said.

“Hell if I know,” said Seto.  “Looks like the rest of your dweeb squad is missing too, though.  I saw them across the street two minutes ago—and when I looked up again, they were gone too.”

“A-Anzu's gone too,” Yugi said, looking white in the face.  “One second, she was there, and I just blinked and then she—”

Yami no Yugi swore.

“Gone?  They're all just—gone?”

“Whatever the hell is going on here, it's not funny,” Seto growled.

Yami no Yugi was almost shocked that the next words out of Seto's mouth were not 'and this is one hell of a holographic trick.'  But there was an unspoken agreement here.  Seto had seen Kisara disappear as easily as everyone else.  He knew that this was something beyond what he could explain, and there was no point in arguing the matter.  There was only time for action.

Yami no Yugi shook his head, trying to clear it.

Mana was gone.  So was the rest of the town.  This world was—a dream?  Somehow?  He didn't understand.

So he needed to understand, first.  He needed answers.

And he knew who had them.

Yami no Yugi turned his eyes towards Cadence and Dawn, who were still struggling with each other.  Dawn had Cadence by both wrists and was shouting something but it was hard to hear what when Cadence was shouting right back, angry tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Cadence!  Dawn!  Please, both of you!” Yami no Yugi said.

They weren't listening, wrestling with each other as Cadence got one hand free and started to go for her cards.

Cards.

Yami no Yugi's hand dove into his pocket and he pulled out the very first card on top.  This was a dream, and as Dawn had told him earlier, magic worked better in dreams.

“Magic card, Dark Magic Attack!” he shouted, thrusting his hand into the air.

Energy crackled around his hand and exploded into the sky like a firework, exploding with a loud crack.  The sound ripped through the group and made everyone freeze.

All eyes turned to him.  Seto was raising an eyebrow, his eyes flicking downwards as though to check for a Duel Disk and his lips twitching downward when it became clear that there was none there.

Satisfied with the result of his action, Yami no Yugi stowed the card back into his pocket.

“Okay,” he said.  “Mana disappeared.  And it seems the town is empty except for us.  What now?”

For a moment, no one spoke.  Then Cadence yanked herself free from Dawn and stepped back, dusting off her dress.  Tears were still glimmering at the corners of her eyes, but she looked more angry than upset.

“What  _ now _ ?  You want to ask that question?” she said.  “It's over!  The nightmare took her!  Her dream will become a nightmare, and she'll never get back to the afterlife!  And  _ it's your fault! _ ”

She choked on a sob and pressed a hand to her mouth to still the sound.

Yami no Yugi's hands tightened.

“No,” he said.

Cadence blinked, glancing up.

“What?”

“I said no.  Bullshit.  It's not over yet.  I won't  _ let _ it be over.”

His hands were starting to shake.

“I'm not giving up.  I'm going to find her, I just need to know  _ how _ .  If this is still a dream, then I can bend the rules.  I just need to know the how, the what, the why, and what's next.  And you're either going to sit there and sob about how it's all over, or you're going to stand up and help me save her.”

Cadence stared at him for a moment, mouth hanging open.

“Why are you so determined?” she whispered, although from the tone of her voice it was clear that she already knew the answer.

Yami no Yugi held her gaze.

“Because I love her,” he whispered back.  “And I'm not going to rest until I find her again.”

For a long, long moment, nothing else was said.  His words hung in the air, drifting slowly into silence like snowflakes.

Then Cadence laughed.  It was a tiny, choked sound but it was there nonetheless.

“Oh god,” she whispered.  “I guess now I know why she came all the way back just for you...god.”

Dawn looked almost uncertain, staring at Cadence as though she had just grown a pair of antennae or something.  Cadence let her chuckle die out.  She looked up and met Yami no Yugi's eyes again.

“Okay,” she whispered.  “Okay.  Let's get her, then.  Let's go get Mana back, and...and finish this.”

Yami no Yugi smiled.  Cadence did not smile back, but she did nod stiffly.

“Dawn,” Yami no Yugi said, turning to the Dark Magician Girl.  “I need to know everything about this...dream.  Everything you know.”

Dawn nodded.

“This place is real,” she said.  “But Mana's altered it.  She was trying to create a world where she could meet you—someplace small, and quiet, where there would always be a quiet spot for friends to gather without being crowded out by other people...someplace that shone like the desert.”

She glanced around at the piles upon piles of snow, which glimmered silver, in contrast to the gold of the desert.

“How did she do something like that?” Yami no Yugi said.  “And...and why?  Just for me?  I don't understand...we've never...”

“Never met?” said Cadence, raising an eyebrow.  “Don't try that one on us, you already know that's not true.”

“Mana was your best friend, three thousand years ago,” Dawn whispered.  “And she came all this way because she wanted to see you one last time.”

Yami no Yugi had half expected that answer, but it didn't make it any less like a punch to the gut.

_ Mana came here for me. _

_ We knew each other, back in that past. _

_ She knew me then, and she cared for me—enough to travel all this way, across time and space, to see me again... _

He felt a lump of tears rising in his throat, but angrily shoved them away.

“How do we save her?” he said.

Dawn licked her lips.

“Mana's soul was creating small nightmares on the edges of the dream, because part of her knew that none of this was real,” she said.  “When the nightmare attacked her, it reminded her of that.  Her soul will have retreated somewhere to protect itself...but...”

Dawn grew pale then, and Cadence picked up.

“If we leave her alone for too long...,” she said.  She stopped, swallowed, barely able to continue.  “She came here to see you, and get closure.”

Her nose wrinkled a tiny bit, but she seemed to smooth it out mentally and continue.

“If she doesn't get that closure, she'll become a nightmare.”

Yami no Yugi felt ice creep through his veins.

“Not only that, but we'll all be trapped in this pocket dimension she's created,” Dawn said.  “Everyone basically...fell out.  We're the only ones inside, and if we don't find her, we won't get out...”

“Then Anzu is okay?” Yugi said quickly.

“She's fine—we're the ones in trouble.”

“And if we don't find Mana, then...then what?” Yami no Yugi said.  “What does that mean—turning into a nightmare?”

Dawn and Cadence exchanged glances, their eyes shining with terror.

“She'll become a wandering spirit, trapped here without any memories,” Dawn said.  “And she'll never get back to the afterlife.”

All of the air in Yami no Yugi's lungs puffed out in a whoosh.

“Then we have to find her now!” Yugi said.  “Where do we start?”

“I—I don't know...” Cadence said, sounding hesitant.

Seto grunted, and all eyes turned towards him expectantly.  His gaze swept them for a moment, as though analyzing each one, before finally settling on Dawn.

“What about Kisara?” he said.

The question hung there for a moment.

“It's okay,” Dawn said.  “Kisara was different.  She won't become a nightmare because this wasn't her dream.”

Seto's eyes narrowed, as though he wasn't completely satisfied with the answer, but he left off.

“Well,” he grunted.  “If by saying her 'soul will withdraw to protect itself', she'll go to someplace she feels safe, right?  So we need to check those places.”

Dawn and Cadence's eyes both lit up.

“Of course,” Cadence said.

“Kaiba-kun, you're a genius!” said Dawn excitedly.  “Okay, let's start at her house, and then the ballroom club, and the cafe, and oh gosh that bookstore she loved, right—?”

“We'll cover more ground if we split up,” Yugi said.  “I'll go to the cafe.”

“Y-you shouldn't go alone, I'll come too,” said Dawn.  “And we have to check her house, and the school maybe—”

“The flower shop,” Yami no Yugi said suddenly.  He kept remembering the flowers, how he kept seeing them everywhere where they shouldn't be, and how they seemed to mean something every time he saw a particular one that Dominic would point out.  “I think we should check the flower shop.”

Cadence nodded, looking thoughtful.

“You're right...that's a good idea.  We should check there too.  I'll go.”

“I'm coming with you,” said Yami no Yugi.

Cadence's eyes widened with surprise, but before she could ask, Yami no Yugi cut her off.

“You were one of the closest people to Mana,” he said quietly.  “And I have a feeling that if anyone can find her, it will be you.”

Cadence stared at him for a moment.  Then she shook her head, wonderingly.

“You shouldn't trust me,” she said.

“I trust your love for Mana,” he said.  “That's all that matters right now.”

She slumped for a moment, looking so, so tired.  But then...she smiled.  It was a tiny thing, barely there, and gone in a second, but it happened.  She seemed about to speak, to say something else, but she shook her head.

“Okay,” she said.  “Then you and I go to the flower shop.”

Seto snorted at them, but Yugi grabbed his arm.

“No time for that, Kaiba-kun, you come with me and Dawn, all right??”

To his credit, Seto didn't argue, though he did yank his arm out of Yugi's frantic grip.

There wasn't really anything else to say.  For a moment, both groups just looked at each other.  Then they each nodded, and stepped back.

Footsteps crunched through the snow as the pairs separated, off to their missions.

Mana had to be found.

**. . .**

The sky was fully dark.  He felt like dawn should have been tinting the horizon by now.  There was no way that all of this had happened in just a few hours.  But no, there wasn't even a hint of light on the edges of the sky.  Even the moon and stars were misted over with heavy clouds.  Light, drifting snowflakes were scattering through the air, nowhere near as heavy as usual, but still present.

“It's starting to snow again,” Yami no Yugi murmured.

“I don't think it will stop—not inside her dream.  The look of snow reminds her of sand,” Cadence said.

Yami no Yugi glanced sidelong at the girl.  She looked straight ahead, her glasses tinted with condensation as her breath steamed into the air past the lenses.  He could still see the red rims of her eyes.  Was she still crying, perhaps?  He wouldn't blame her.  He could feel a tear or two himself coming on.

“So it'll just keep piling up like this?” he said.

The snow was in fact starting to get a little harder, he realized.  It was a gradual change, but they were starting to fall closer together.

“It could,” she said.

Yami no Yugi swallowed.  Would they be swallowed up by the blizzard of Mana's dream?  They had to find her quickly.

“Is this going to affect anyone else?” he asked, his eyes drifting towards the still lit store windows that were empty of people, the streets that lacked footprints in the snow, the quiet frozenness of time beneath the streams of street lamps.

“No,” Cadence said.  “Everyone else is safe.  To them, actually...we're the ones that have disappeared.”

She licked dry lips, staring up at the sky.  The clouds seemed to be swirling ominously, and she paled, picking up her pace.  Yami no Yugi had to struggle to keep up; her legs were longer than his.

“This whole town is overlaid with a pocket dimension.  We've been partially inside of it for most of the dream, with others popping in and out without realizing it—that's why the place always seems so empty and quiet.  Only some of the people from the town were inside at any given time.  Just enough to make the place look inhabited, without interfering with Mana's interactions with others.”

“But now...”

“Now, Mana has become defensive.  She's ejected everyone that she can to protect herself, subconsciously, of course...but those of us touched by magic are tied to the dream and are still inside.”

Yami no Yugi nodded slowly.  It didn't make complete sense, but he thought he understood.

“I understand, you, me, and Dawn but...”

“Seto Kaiba remains because he interacted intimately with the other dreamer—Kisara.  He attached enough to her that he is now part of her dream.  Yugi remains because he cannot exist separately from you outside of the dream, and you're trapped here by Mana's will, so he has to stay where you are.”

“That explains why Anzu vanished then...she'll be so worried.”

He glared at the sky for a moment, hands tightening in his coat pockets.  It was getting colder, he thought.  The wind whistled past his ears, swirling motes of snowflakes against him.  Was that a storm picking up?  He wouldn't be surprised.

“Why are you so certain of the flower shop?” Cadence asked suddenly.  “I mean...it felt  _ right _ to me when you mentioned it but...it was never particularly important to Mana.  It was beautiful, yes, and she liked flowers but...”

He shook his head.

“I don't know,” he admitted.  “I just...I had a feeling.  I find my gut instinct is often right and I'm not going to second guess myself now.”

He crunched through the snow as the wind cut through him again.

“And for some reason,” he said.  “Every now and then I...I would see flowers where they shouldn't be.  Or I would hear the sound of the flower shop's bell ringing in places where it didn't belong.  Somehow...somehow I think the flowers are important.”

Cadence considered him for a moment, lips parted.  For his own part, he clutched at the card that Mana had given to him in his pocket.  Lotus Magician.  There was something about it—about flowers in general.  Something not quite right.  He needed to get to the shop.  He could feel it.

“There's something that still bothers me,” he said.  “How did Mana create this pocket dimension?  She's been dead for three thousand years...as long as I was....reincarnation is one thing—ghosts are another.  But this?”

He gestured around to the empty, cold world around them, and the wind that was beginning to scream against buildings, the snow that was picking up so much that it was getting in his eyelashes and making it hard for him to see.

“I...” Cadence started.  She coughed, covering her face from the wind and snow.  “It doesn't make sense.  Dawn told me pockets like this aren't common...back when we were closer, she explained a lot of things to me, about Mana, the dream...I guess I always just assumed that Mana was that powerful but...”

She trailed off—the wind was starting to steal her words away from her and she coughed again.  The words stuck with him, though.  Did Dawn know more?  Did Dawn know where the dream came from?  Was Mana truly powerful enough to do this, even from beyond the grave?

But maybe it wasn't important.  Maybe it didn't matter, in the end.  He just needed to find her, and give her the closure she needed...right?

The pair pushed on against the wind, the lights of the flower shop appearing just ahead.  Yami no Yugi broke into a run and Cadence followed with a ripple of black fabric around her legs.  He ripped the door open, letting Cadence flee inside before he himself shut themselves in against the wind.

The shop was too quiet after that howling wind.  His ears rang for a moment as he readjusted to the artificial lighting, the warmth, the gentle bobbing of flowers at the breeze they had brought in with them.

He unbuttoned the top of his coat, already sweating at the temperature difference.  Even Cadence looked flushed.

It was silent and empty here.

Yami no Yugi frowned, walking between the tight rows of flowers.  He brushed against lilies and tulips, who glistened with droplets as though they had just been watered.  Cadence bent to examine a pot of peonies, brow furrowing.

“Mana?” Yami no Yugi called.  “Mana!”

“I don't sense anything,” Cadence said, as she straightened.  And then she frowned, blinking.  “Not—not even a hint of a nightmare.”

Yami no Yugi paused to meet her gaze.  She looked as though she might fall over, gray eyes glistening with uncertainty.

“I've been sensing those things on the edges of the dream nonstop for weeks.  They're everywhere, now that the dream is collapsing—but here I don't—I don't sense anything at all.”

“That's...good, right?”

She bit her lip, and Yami no Yugi knew exactly what she was thinking, because he was thinking it too.  It was always the things that were out of the ordinary that were most unsettling.  What was waiting for them in here?

“Mana?” he called again.  “Mana, are you here?”

Something clattered.  Yami no Yugi jumped, swearing, reaching for his cards, Cadence's hand was diving into her own pocket as the door behind the desk jiggled and started to swing open—

“Oy, now, what's all this racket?” said the lilting voice of Dominic McGuire.

Both Yami no Yugi and Cadence froze.  Both of them were standing there like statues with their fingers clutched around cards, as a very tired looking Dominic stared out through half closed, groggy eyes.

He rubbed one eye for a moment, and then squinted at them again.

“What's this, then?” he said.  “Thought you two were out and about for Christmas...what's with that look?”

Cadence and Yami no Yugi exchanged glances as Dominic frowned at them.

“Cadence...?” Yami no Yugi said.

“I...I don't know.  He really shouldn't—there's no reason for him to be in the dream.  I can't imagine why—”

“Is it because he's friends with Mana?”

“No, that doesn't make sense, he hasn't interacted deeply enough with the magic to—”

“Oy, oy,  _ oy _ , I'm standing right here, or hadn't you noticed?” Dominic said sullenly.  “What exactly is going on?”

The pair exchanged a glance again.

“Mana's gone missing,” Yami no Yugi said.

“What?  Did you scare her off on your date?  Too forward, eh?”

“N-no, that's not what happened at all—”

“Dom, this is an emergency,” Cadence said.  “Mana is missing and we need to find her—or all hell is going to break lose.”

Dominic stared at the pair of them for a long moment.  Then he nodded.

“Right, right, both of you look like you're panicking, so I'll guess that this isn't a prank,” he said.  “Well.  Where have you looked yet?  Were you looking here?  She's not here, swear on my mum I'm not hiding her.”

“I didn't think you would be,” said Cadence, rolling her eyes.

Dominic flipped open the side of the desk so that he could come around into the aisles of flowers, frowning at a lotus floating in a bowl as he passed, muttering something about the petals looking a bit wilty.

“Were you looking here, though?  Not really the place Mana'd go to hide, you know?  I mean, she's more like to hide out at Dawn's place, yeah?”

“We're—we're checking those places too, we just started looking,” Yami no Yugi said.  “Do you have any ideas where Mana might be?”

Dominic frowned, looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling.  He tapped his chin for a moment.

“Well, besides home, Dawn's place, and maybe the cafe, no, not coming up with much; she's not much of a hiding person, you know?  Likes to face things head-on.”

His brow furrowed then.

“But come to think of it,” Dominic said, glancing thoughtfully at the ceiling.  “I saw a bit of a commotion out towards the train station.  This isn't bad enough that she'd try to run away, you think?”

Cadence went white.

“Oh, god,” she said.  “I'm so—I'm  _ stupid _ , why didn't I—”

“Cadence?  Cadence, what?” Yami no Yugi said, his heart jumping.

“The  _ train station, _ ” Cadence said.  “That's where she met you for the first time in this life, it's where her dream finally started to come to fruition—Yami, Mana's soul is at the train station!”

The wind slammed the doors.  All three jumped—Yami no Yugi bumped into a display of cut bouquets and flowers crashed to the floor, Cadence managed to grab a pot of pansies before it tipped off the side, and Dominic fell against the desk before he caught himself.

“Wow!  It's a howler out there!” Dominic said.  “You really think she's out in that?”

Yami no Yugi's eyes lifted from the fallen flowers to meet Cadence's eyes.  They were wide, and her face was pale.

“She's out there,” she whispered.  “She's definitely out there.”

“You try calling her?” Dominic said, frowning.  “I mean, it's looking dangerous out there—you sure you want to...”

“We have to,” Yami no Yugi said, already heading for the door.  “She's out there, and we need to get to her.”

Cadence was already stalking for the door, too, both of them reaching for the handle at the same time.

“Hold up!  Hold up!” Dominic said.  “Just a moment, I'll be right there!”

He flopped over the desk and reached to the other side to grab his coat, flinging it on.

“You don't have to—” Cadence started.

“Are you kidding?  And leave one of my best girls out in that?  Course not!  Oh, but...”

He snatched up a handful of flowers from the floor as he passed, handing one each to both of them.

“Hydrangea,” he said, winking. “Supposed to be protective, you know.  Take all we can get, maybe?  It's quite a storm, I mean.”

Cadence stared at the flower.

“Dominic, this is hardly the time for your flower jokes—”

“Exactly, which is why we should all get out into that nasty weather now and get Mana back inside someplace nice and warm instead of talking about my silly flower jokes!  Come on, come on!”

He was physically pushing them out the door and Yami no Yugi really couldn't do anything except shove the flower into his pocket before he was thrust out into the screaming wind and his bangs were flung into his eyes along with gusts of snow.

Cadence shouted something, but Yami no Yugi couldn't hear.  She flung her finger towards the train station and he just nodded.  It was all he could do with the wind screaming at them.  He tried to take a step forward and nearly fell over from the next gust.

Dominic's arm latched around Yami no Yugi's.  Yami no Yugi nodded thankfully, and Dominic winked.  Together they pushed forward, and then Dominic linked arms with Cadence, and the pair huddled together as they shoved their way through the wind towards the train station.

As they drew closer, Yami no Yugi felt something change.  Something—something was humming.  Humming beneath his skin, a tension in the air, a static between his ears.  The wind picked up with a huge gust, slapping all three of them in the face with snow.

They were almost there!  Yami no Yugi felt Dominic's arm tighten around his at another huge gust.  He bent his head against the wind—one step at a time.  He just had to focus on the steps, one at a time, almost there, he was so close to her again that he could almost taste that pomegranate tart again—

And then the wind just  _ stopped _ .

All three of the stumbled at the lack of resistance, but Dominic held fast and kept the tightly wound group on its feet.

Cadence slipped out of Dominic's grip first, and then Yami no Yugi stepped back, his ears ringing and head spinning.

“What happened?” he said.

“The eye of the storm...or rather, the eye of the dream,” Cadence said.  “We found her.”

Yami no Yugi sucked in a breath.

The train station was quiet, still.  There wasn't even any snow falling anymore.  Not a single thing moved.  He almost felt like he had to hold his breath.  No train sat on the tracks, and although they should have spread out for visible miles, thick mist swirled just thirty feet on either side of the tracks, closing them in like curtains drawn about them.

Hovering above the tracks was a thick, swirling center of shadows.

Yami no Yugi drew in a thick, strangled breath.

“Is that her?” he whispered.

Cadence could only nod, her face drawn and pale.  Dominic just stared at the floating thing, like a black hole that spun slowly on its axis above the tracks.

“What do I do now?” Yami no Yugi said.

“Go to her,” Cadence said.  “Go to her and...and try to convince her that it's going to be all right.”

Yami no Yugi nodded, unable to take his eyes off of the swirling shadows that was all that remained of Mana.

He took one step forward.  Another.  Another.  In a few more steps, he would be able to reach out and touch Mana's frightened soul...

Something flashed past him.  He gasped as he felt himself being flung backwards, crashing against the concrete as Cadence shouted and Dominic let out a cry.

“Now, now, pharaoh dearest, maybe it would be more interesting to let her sleep through this nightmare...”

Yami no Yugi choked on his air.  An icicle was growing in his heart as his eyes lifted up to see what stood between him and Mana.

Yami no Bakura smiled down at him, teeth gleaming in the dark.

“What?” he said.  “Did you really think I was going to miss out on all of this fun?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poppy = eternal sleep, oblivion


	23. The Primrose Without You

Yami no Yugi flew back to his feet, hands curling into fists, already moving one step forward with his arm cocked back, resorting to his fists without thinking, just wanting to break something in that grinning, malicious face—

Yami no Bakura caught the blow easily, twisting Yami no Yugi around in a practice whirl to pin his twisted arm behind his back.

“Yami!” Cadence said.

“Ah, ah, ah, little psychic, careful where you're aiming those spells of yours,” Yami no Bakura said.  “Wouldn't want to hit his majesty by accident.”

Cadence froze in the middle of pulling a card from her deck.  Her face was snow white, mouth drawn into a tight line.  Her hand shook—it was a wonder she didn't lose her cards.

“Cadence, just attack him, it doesn't matter, we have to get to Mana!” Yami no Yugi said.

Yami no Bakura wrenched Yami no Yugi backwards and Yami no Yugi gasped as his arm was twisted further.

“Sh, sh, your majesty.  Just sit back and watch the show, why don't you?  If our little psychic friend tries to get to me through you, you could die—and then precious Mana will just be a nightmare anyway, won't she?”

“Cadence,” Yami no Yugi hissed.  “ _ Cadence _ .”

She looked like she was going to throw up.  The frozen silence of the train terminal pressed in around them, the air too still, too quiet, Yami no Yugi could hear every one of his breaths echoing against the pavement.  Like a wall of wind and snow, the storm raged around them in a circle, closing them in.  What about Yugi, and Seto, and Dawn?  Were they all okay out there?  Would they be able to come and help?  Damn his helplessness—he shouldn't have reacted so quickly and put himself into this position.  He couldn't even get to his cards like this—

“Let him go,” Cadence said.  “Let him go.”

“I don't think so,” Yami no Bakura said.  “Put your cards down.”

She didn't move, jaw clenching even as the tremble started down her spine.  Her eyes narrowed with a helpless fury as Yami no Bakura wrenched Yami no Yugi's arm even further and Yami no Yugi couldn't help but gasp with the pain.

“Just a few more minutes, and she'll be too far gone anyway,” said Yami no Bakura.

“Then you'll be stuck in the nightmare too!” Cadence snapped.  “This whole dimension will seal off, and we'll all be trapped!  Is that worth your sodding revenge, you sodding  _ cu— _ ”

“Ladies shouldn't use such words,” he laughed.  “And don't think you'll be so lucky, little psychic.  A realm of nightmares is  _ my _ domain.  Slipping in and out will be easy for me once the darkness takes hold.”

He smiled and leaned down so that his words whispered against Yami no Yugi's ear.

“And I'll get to watch all of you die very, very slowly as your precious girlfriend consumes all of you into her despair...won't  _ that _ be fun?”

He let out a high, wild laugh.  Rage clawed at Yami no Yugi's stomach and he tried to yank himself free—no good, Bakura had a tight grip on him and moving only served to bring more pain to his twisted limb.

“Oh, goodness, won't this be wonderful to watch?  You get to fail her a second time!”

Yami no Yugi stopped struggling for a moment.  His blood ran as cold as the snow around them.

“What—what are you talking about?”

“Ah, you and your convenient memory loss,” Bakura laughed, shaking Yami no Yugi so that he gasped with pain.  His voice changed into a mockery of Yami no Yugi's.  “'Oh, I promise I'll be right back.  I'll come right back to you.  Don't worry.'”

Yami no Bakura laughed and the sound echoed against the storm wall.

“What a lie that was!  Well, I suppose you  _ did _ come back—in the ancient Egyptian equivalent of a body bag.  Oh, you should have  _ seen her face _ .”

Yami no Yugi couldn't breathe.  He—he couldn't breathe.  His lungs were clamped with a steel vise and spots were dancing across his vision.

_ Mana.  Mana.  Mana. _

“She was so ridiculously devastated that she came  _ all this way _ just to see you one last time, so that you could make up for breaking your promise,” Yami no Bakura said.  “And now you're going to fail her again!  Priceless!  History really does repeat itself!”

“You're wrong!”

Cadence's scream was so unexpected that Yami no Bakura's laugh actually cut off immediately.  Cadence shook—not with fear this time, but with  _ rage _ .

“You're  _ wrong _ , you  _ bastard— _ he didn't fail her, she didn't—she never hated him for leaving—she didn't come back because she wanted him to fix his broken promise, she came back because she—because she—”

Cadence choked for a moment, that's how angry she was, but she picked up again.

“Because she was in love with him and she wanted to see him!  Because she  _ loved him _ .”

Yami no Yugi could only stare, his mouth falling open.

“C-Cadence...”

Angry tears rolled down Cadence's cheeks.

“She never hated you for some stupid reason like that, she was devastated w

hen you were gone but she never thought—she never hated you for that, Yami, please don't ever think that she did, she loves you so much and I—I was so  _ jealous _ but—don't listen to him, he's lying, he does nothing but  _ lie— _ ”

“And what would you know?” Bakura hissed, twisting Yami no Yugi's arm again.  “I was  _ there _ , little psychic.  Your soul hadn't even been born yet!”

“I can see the dream as well as you!” Cadence said.  “I've seen her memories—I've glimpsed them when I sleep and I know—I know you're not just doing this because you hate him, you're doing this because you want to get back at her for keeping you in the Ring for all those years!”

Yami no Yugi felt Bakura's nails dig into his skin.

“Shut up,” he said.

“You're scared—you're scared that we'll get her back because she's  _ stronger than you _ and you know it!  She controlled you for years when you were in that sodding Ring and you know that she can do it again if you let her out!  Mana is stronger than you, and once those two come together again they will be able to beat you, and you're just a scared little  _ cunt. _ ”

Yami no Bakura's hand shot forward, darkness swirling around the palm.  Yami no Yugi shouted and tried to fling himself in between Cadence and the magic attack, Cadence fumbled for her deck, the magic was exploding from Yami no Bakura's hand and ripping through both Yami no Yugi and Cadence at once and—

And then Yami no Yugi was stumbling forward and Cadence was grabbing him by the shoulders before he fell to the ground.  Cadence dragged her hands under his armpits, trying to get him back to his feet.  His head spun and his mouth was dry but—but he was okay.  He didn't feel any pain.

“W-what happened?” Yami no Yugi asked.

Cadence looked as pale and dizzy as he felt.

“I don't know, I—he was going to do some kind of—of curse and I tried to activate a trap but then something—”

Something fell out of Yami no Yugi's pocket and both of their eyes dropped to it.  It was the hydrangea that Dominic had pushed at them, wilting and curling into black dust on the ground.  Their eyes rose to meet each other.  After a beat, Cadence fumbled in the pocket of her dress, and her fingers came up with the dusty, crumbling leaves of her own hydrangea flower.

Behind them, Yami no Bakura would not stop swearing—in more than one language, it sounded like.  He flailed his hand as though he had burned it.

“What the  _ fuck _ was  _ that, _ ” he swore.  “Son of a  _ bitch— _ ”

“Eat snapdragons, you bloody git!”

Dominic seemed to come out of nowhere, flinging a stalk of thick pink flowers at Yami no Bakura's face.  The spirit barely had time to look surprised before the flowers smacked him in the face.  He stumbled back as though he had been punched—for a moment, his hands clapped over his eyes as though he had been hit with acid instead of flowers—

And then his hands dropped and they were a brilliant green instead of dark purple, and Ryo Bakura blinked groggily in the light.

“What...?” he said.

Dominic scooped up the fallen snapdragons and shoved them into Ryo's hands, waiting for him to wrap his fingers around them even as he blinked with disorientation.

“Hold onto those,” Dominic said.  “Don't know how long it'll last, flowers don't have much juice in 'em, but it should prevent you from getting possessed for a few moments—”

“ _ Dominic? _ ” Cadence said, her voice ringing with the same amount of shock as Yami no Yugi felt.  “Dom—Dom what the bloody  _ hell? _ ”

Dominic just blinked at them.

“What?  I told you hydrangea was good for protection!  One time use, though—I mean, looks like that's the case.  Don't know how long a snapdragon will last on a permanent possession like this, either, so shouldn't you be going to get Mana while old thiefy is distracted?”

For a half beat, nobody moved, mouths hanging open and eyes on Dominic.

“Look, I know a lot about flowers, you all know this—I've read about the magical properties of flowers, and I thought it was worth a try!”

“You—you just happened to 'give it a try' and it worked,” said Yami no Yugi, still staring at him.

“Do we have time for this?”

Cadence was the first to rouse herself from the shocked stupor, her hand gripping Yami no Yugi's arm and pushing him forward.

“Dom's right, we can ask questions later,” she said.  “Go get Mana— _ now _ .  We're running out of time.”

Her eyes darted back to the storm wall.  Yami no Yugi swore—it was closing in on them.  The howl of the wind and snow was creeping closer and closer, the ring of clouds in the sky beginning to close.

Ryo grunted, then, his eyes squeezing shut.

“He's coming back,” he said through gritted teeth.  “The flowers aren't helping anymore.”

“Go, go, go,” Cadence said.

“I can't leave you with him—”

“We can handle it, now go!”

Yami no Yugi didn't argue anymore, letting Cadence shove him towards the flailing ball of darkness that was Mana's soul, still hovering over the train tracks.  For a moment, he thought he could see Mana's face staring at him from inside.  His eyes flicked back to Ryo and Cadence and Dominic, and he saw Cadence laying her traps around Ryo, and Dominic pulling more flowers from his pockets—where was he keeping those—and then his eyes returned to Mana's soul.

_ “She loves you so much,” _ Cadence had said.  That was why she was here.  Because she loved him.

Yami no Yugi didn't hesitate any longer.  He reached up and placed his hand on the dark sphere.

“Mana,” he whispered.  “I'm here.”

And then everything went dark.

**. . .**

Yami no Yugi stood in the middle of pure darkness.  Was there—was there even any ground here?  He was standing on something, but he couldn't see it.

He tapped his feet against the ground for a moment and found it solid.  Then he turned in a slow circle.  Nothing.  Just...darkness.  He could see himself fine, as he glanced down at his own hands, but the rest of the world around him was just...nonexistent.

“Mana?” he called.  “Mana?  Are you here?”

Nothing.

No, wait, what was that?

For a moment, he thought he had seen a spark of something.  A light?  It was gone now.

“Mana!” he said again.

There it was again!  A tiny flash of gold in the distance at the name.  He blinked, uncertain of how to proceed.  Did this only work if he spoke?

“Mana?  Mana, I'm here, are you here?  Can you hear me?  I want to find you.”

The spark returned, but only when he said Mana's name.

_ This is Mana's dream _ , he thought.   _ It must react to Mana... _

He hesitated.  What could he do?  How to find her?

_ Mana...I...I want to see you again... _

In the theater of his mind, she appeared, her bright smile, her sparkling eyes, the feel of her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her loud belly laugh that made her snort through her nose, the way she got jam on her lips when she ate too fast and the way she squeaked when he reached over to wipe it off and then licked it off his own finger.

Something  _ changed  _ in the darkness.

He gasped as a golden path started to fade into existence at his feet.  As soon as he was startled out of his thoughts of Mana, however, it started to fade back towards him.

_ My memories of Mana—they're making a path. _

He thought harder—the card she had given him.  The cool metal of the necklace he had helped her put on.  The glitter of Christmas lights reflected in her eyes.  The time he had stepped on her toes while they had danced and she had just laughed and stepped on his toes back.

The path was growing, spreading out from his feet in answer to his thoughts.  He started to run as it twisted, turned, reacting to every new memory about her.

Her dark purple coat and the way it swirled when she spun.  That muffled giggle when she was trying so hard not to laugh.  The way she groaned every time she made a mistake in Duel Monsters.  Her lips that tasted like the pomegranate tarts she loved.

_ Mana.  Mana.  MANA. _

He wanted to see her, he  _ needed _ to see her, he needed to hear her giggling at something again and when he asked what it was about she just started laughing harder and stumbled over her words as she tried to explain it.  He needed to put his arms around her again and spin her around on the dance floor.  Needed to meet her under the Christmas tree again and tilt her face towards his so that they could stare right into each other eyes and come together once again, lips locking together in a perfect moment of ecstasy—

And then suddenly there she was.  She appeared so quickly that he almost tripped over her, managing to come stumbling to a stop in front of her hunched body.

She looked just as he remembered.  Her dark hair spilling over her shoulders, her beautiful brown hands hugging her knees, same purple coat and black boots and leggings.

“Mana,” he breathed.

She didn't even move.  As though she didn't hear him.  Behind him the path faded back into blackness, and they were just the two of them in the darkness.  His heart pounded in his chest, shaking his whole body.  He stared at her, his mouth going dry and tears bubbling in his eyes because— _ she was here _ .  He had found her.

“Mana,” he said again, leaning down to put a hand on her shoulder.  “Mana, I'm here.  I came to find you.”

She shuddered under his touch.

“Go away,” she whispered.

“Mana...”

“I didn't—I didn't want you to find me.”

He flinched, hand leaving her shoulder for a moment.  But her voice was choked, he realized.  Tight with tears she didn't want to cry, and instead of backing away, he dropped to his knees behind her and put both hands on her shoulders.

“Why not?” he whispered.  “Don't you...want to see me?”

She sobbed, her head pressing into her knees.

“No,” she said.  “...yes.”

They both stayed where they were.  He could feel her tremble under his hands.  He wanted to do nothing more than pull her into him and hold her close, to catch the scent of her hair again.

“What's wrong?” he whispered.

“I don't wanna say.”

“Okay.  I'll just stay with you, then.  You don't have to talk.”

She pulled her knees in tighter.

“...you found me with your memories.”

“I did...they lead me to you.”

“But—but those memories aren't real.  Because—because I'm not real.”

“That's not true.”

“What about Kisara?  No one remembers her.  They'll forget me, just like they forgot Kisara.”

He tightened his grip.

“I won't forget you.”

Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

“How can you be sure?  You've—you've already forgotten me once.”

His heart tightened.  But he didn't let go.  He slid his arms around her shoulders so that he was hugging her.  She flinched once—but then she pressed back into him.  Her tears fell onto his sleeves and he held her tighter.

“I know,” he said.  “And I'm so, so sorry.”

He swallowed.

“This time I won't.  I promise you.”

“But I'm not real.”

He pressed his lips to the back of her head.

“What makes you think this wasn't real?”

“It's...it's just a dream.”

He dropped his face into her hair and breathed in.

“And what makes you think that dreams can't be real?”

Her tremble grew, and soon she was shaking so badly that she couldn't hold onto her knees anymore.  After one more beat, she let out a loud sob, and wrenched around in his arms so that she could throw her arms around his neck.

“I was so scared, I was so scared you wouldn't come and that I'd be alone forever but I—I don't want to—”

“I'm here.  I'm here.”

“Y-You'll forget again, I'm so scared you'll forget again and then what will be the point of all of this?  What will be the point?”

Yami no Yugi tightened his grip around her, fingers entwining into her hair.

“I will not forget,” he said. “I will start to  _ remember. _  I'll remember everything—I'll find my memories, and I'll remember you, and everyone, and I won't ever have to forget again.”

She pulled back, just enough so that she could look into his eyes.

“Promise?” she said.  “You'll remember me?”

He nodded.

“I promise.”

She came up and pressed her lips against his and then he was just trying so hard to remember, so hard to imprint her on him so deeply that if they ever were pulled apart again, he wouldn't be able to forget.

And then...

The darkness opened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> primrose = I can't live without you


	24. Zinnia of Recollections

The sun's rays stretched down to the golden sand, send ripples of heat up from the ground.  Not a breeze passed through the dusty heat, there was only stillness beneath the perfect blue sky.

Few people moved about the warm stones of the palace; it was the highest heat of the day, and it was customary to take shelter in the shade rather than risk heat stroke.  Work could wait—but it couldn't be done if one was in a heat coma, could it?

Only a single figure moved about the garden.  She balanced on the edge of the fountain, arms outstretched as though she walked on a thin rope rather than a thick ledge.  She paused for a moment to stand at the edge of the fountain and stare down at the water—as though considering jumping into it.  She'd probably get scolded, but oh, it would probably be worth it.  It was actually a wonder the thing hadn't dried up by now.  They could thank her amazing master for that!

A hand pushed on her back gently—but she was balanced just so that she could only squeak and flail as she tumbled forward, spinning around in midair so that she landed in the water sitting up.

His barely muffled laugh pushed between his lips even as he covered his mouth.

“Prince!” she shouted indignantly.  “What was that for??”

“It—it was so perfect, you didn't hear me walk up, I couldn't resist—”

She reached up, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him in after her.  His face dunked beneath the water for a moment and he bobbed up, spluttering.

Her laugh rolled out of her like a water spout.

“You're right, that  _ was _ funny,” she said.

He splashed her in the face and she squealed at the magically cooled water.  She kicked water back at him and he ducked, laughing as he splashed her again.

She produced her staff with a pop of magic and encouraged the water to grow and swell and spin upwards—

Augh, too much!  She waved her hands frantically at the water tornado she had accidentally created—it was almost five feet tall and getting bigger!

“Gah, Mana, that's cheating!” he shouted.

“Go away water, go away!” she said, smacking at it with her staff.

Well, it listened.  Kind of.  The tornado stopped abruptly—only to drop its entire wet contents on top of both of their heads.

They just sat there for a moment, their hair dripping into their faces.

He laughed first.  And then she wasn't long to follow, the laughter shaking out of them like a cloud shakes out rain, unable to stop—he actually fell over and was laying face up in the water for a moment and she had to resist the urge to flop on top of him.

The giggles subsided.

“You're a dork,” he said.

“You started it,” she said.

He sat up, his tunic clinging to him from the water.  As naturally as breathing, he reached for her and guided her towards him, and she leaned forward automatically so that their lips touched, deeply, briefly, just enough for them to taste the water on each other's lips.

She broke back, giggling.

“Mahad might see,” she said.

He blushed.

“He might,” he agreed.

“Do you care?”

“Not really, I guess.”

She giggled and fell against him, and he wrapped his arms around her.  They sat there for a moment, just dripping wet, leaning against the back of the fountain, half in the water.  It felt nice and cool against their overheated skin.

She stared out at the vast, golden desert, and the blue sky that met with it.

“Prince?”

“Hm?”

“Do you promise not to disappear?”

He blinked, but he didn't ask her why.

“I promise,” he said.

She sighed, nuzzling against him deeper so that her head was tucked under his chin.  He sighed, too, as he dropped his face into her soaking wet hair.

“When you're a pharaoh,” she said.  “Will we still be friends?”

“Forever and ever,” he promised.  “Will you still want to be my friend when I'm going to be so busy and dumb?”

“You'd always be dumb,” she teased.  “And you can't get rid of me that easily.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Again, they both sighed, as though they were trying to breathe in each other's breath.

“....Prince?”

“Yeah?”

Her eyes stared out at the desert around them, the gold and the blue and the heat and the dunes upon dunes that shimmered like precious metals.

“If...if one of us does disappear...for some reason...let's meet again.  Okay?  In a place just like this.”

“Like this?”

“Uh-huh.  Someplace that sparkles.  With a blue sky overhead.  So if we ever get separated...we know where to find each other.”

“That's a pretty broad definition,” he teased, nuzzling her.  “Someplace that sparkles.”

“Oh, you, you know what I mean!” she said, pushing him gently.

He nodded.  He really did.

“I promise,” he said.  “But let's—let's try not to get separated.”

“Yeah.  But if we do—”

“Someplace that sparkles.”

They looked at each other then, eyes meeting each others gazes, and they smiled.

“It's a promise,” they whispered at once.

**. . .**

The darkness closed around them again, but they weren't in that black place anymore.  They were standing on the railroad tracks, and she was in his arms, and he was holding her so, so tightly that he could feel her breath against his chest and her heartbeat against his hands around her back.

She looked up over his shoulder.

“Oh,” she breathed, and he knew what she meant.

“We kept our promise,” he said, in the middle of the world that sparkled like silver and diamonds.  “Someplace that sparkles.”

Tears bubbled in her eyes and she pressed her face against his chest again, breathing in deeply as though she was trying to inhale all of his essence into herself.

“We kept our promise,” she repeated.  Her tears stained his coat.  “Yami...prince...”

She swallowed, and held him tighter.

_ “Thank you.” _

And then she was gone again.

And he stood alone on the railroad tracks.

At least, until he opened his eyes and found himself staring at the motel ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zinnia = in memory of an absent friend


	25. The Ambrosia of Farewell

At first, as Yami no Yugi shot straight up in bed and fumbled to the ground, he thought that all of last night had been a dream.  Had he imagined all of it?  The empty town?  The storm?  Walking through the darkness to find Mana?  Had he even imagined the night he had spent with her and kissed her under the Christmas lights?

But as he shoved his feet into his shoes, he realized that he was already dressed, and looking down at his hands, they were still a deep tan.  Yugi groaned and he turned to see his partner rising groggily from the bed.  They were still separated.  It hadn't been a dream.

And it wasn't over yet.

There was a rapping on the door and Yami no Yugi bolted for it, swinging it open.

Anzu stood outside, her eyes wide.  For a moment, her mouth dropped open at the sight of him, and her hand came up over her lips.

“Y-Yugi...?” she said.

“Sort of,” Yami no Yugi said.  “You're back, then?”

“Or  _ we're _ back, or something,” Yugi said, shifting out of bed.  “Did we fall out of the dream pocket?”

“We can't have, we're still separate...Dawn pretty much implied it would only work inside the dream,” Yami no Yugi pointed out.

Anzu was still staring, until she shook herself out of it and peered into see Yugi putting on his shoes and jogging over.  Yami no Yugi did not mistake the faint warmth coming to her cheeks for a moment.

“You just vanished last night,” she said to Yugi.  “I didn't know what happened, one moment you were standing in front of me and the next you were gone...”

Yugi ducked his head, blushing.

“I'm sorry,” he said.  “We got...stuck.  I guess.  I'll explain everything later, but right now...”

He glanced over to Yami no Yugi.  Yami no Yugi nodded.  He could feel it—a buzz in his skin, a tingle against his fingers.  The dream was starting to fall apart.  It was the feeling of waking up after a long sleep.  He was almost out of time.

And he knew, somehow, that she was waiting.

. . .

“Yugi!!  What happened to you—”

Jonouchi's mouth dropped open like a fish and he just stared, eyes flicking back and forth, back and forth.

“Honda, is it just me, or am I seeing double?” he said.

“It's not just you,” said Honda.

The pair was waiting outside, apparently, after Yugi had vanished, Anzu had gone to get them so that they could look for everyone.  It was morning already, the sky a clear blue, the air having a fresh briskness to it.  There was not a lot of snow on the ground, Yami no Yugi realized with a start.  Barely half an inch scattering the ground, not at all like the silver drifts he had seen before.

There were more people, too, walking back and forth on the street, calling out to each other, the sounds of laughter and bells ringing and doors were opened.  Carols being sung from inside houses and lights still twinkling in windows even though it was full light outside.  Cars meandered past on the road.  The town was suddenly alive, not at all the quiet, almost empty place that he had known while he was here.

The world was waking up.

Jonouchi finally snapped out of his surprise.

“Okay, I guess—I guess I've seen weirder,” he said.  “So what happened??”

“I'll explain later,” said Yami no Yugi.  “I have to go find Mana.”

For a moment, then, he flinched—would they have forgotten?  The way they had forgotten Kisara?  He didn't know if he could handle that.

“What?  Is she still missing too?” Jonouchi said, scratching the back of his neck.

“Both of you went missing last night, and then you just appear in your room with you and Yugi being two people??” said Honda.  “What is going on in this town?”

“Again, explanations later,” Yami no Yugi said, feeling his skin buzz.  “I promise.”

He couldn't deny the relief that flooded through him, though, since they remember Mana.

“Where do you think she'll wait, other me?” Yugi asked.

Yami no Yugi already knew.

“The Christmas tree,” he said.

His friends exchanged glances.  But they didn't say anything as Yami no Yugi took off at a swift walk, almost a run if there hadn't been people all over the sidewalk to run into.  He could see the spire of the star on top from afar, and he just knew that he had to get there.  After a beat, Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, and Yugi all fell into step behind him.  

They reached the square, and Yami no Yugi suddenly began to slow.  His heart hammered in his chest.  He didn't know how to feel.  What to think.  Would he see her?  Would this be the  _ last _ time he saw her?  He didn't want to go—that would mean saying that it was over.  He didn't want it to be over.

His partner jogged up to walk beside him and touched his arm.  Yami no Yugi looked down to find Yugi smiling at him.

“It's going to be okay,” he murmured.

Yami no Yugi wasn't sure.  His heart pounded in his ears as he stopped at the edge of the square, staring at the Christmas tree.  He couldn't see her, but...but there were a lot of people around so...

He  _ did _ see Seto standing under the tree, his hands shoved in his pockets, staring up at the lights with his back to the group.  Yami no Yugi had a feeling he knew what he was doing here.

But he, himself, couldn't find the will to move.  He just stared at that star at the top of the tree.

_ This is where I kissed her for the first time in this life _ , he thought.   _ And this is where I'm going to say goodbye. _

He—he didn't want it to be goodbye.  Wasn't there something he could do?  Some way to keep her here?  For a little longer, at least?

“Are you hesitating?”

He jumped, turning around.  Cadence and Dawn stood behind the group, Dawn with her hands clasped behind her back, rocking on her heels, and Cadence with her arms folded, glaring at him through her glasses.  She was the one who had spoken.

“I...”

“Don't make my mistake—haven't I been clear enough on that part?” Cadence said.  “Go.  Okay?  Go say goodbye.  That's...that's the reason she came.”

“You don't have too much time, either,” Dawn said.  “So make it count.”

She smiled at them.

“You guys did so good, you know?  I was...so happy to see her smile like that again.”

“Dawn...Cadence...” Yami no Yugi murmured.

Cadence just stalked forward, put her hands on his shoulders, and turned him around, shoving him forward.

“You can say thank yous and things later.  You know, you and Yugi can't hold this separation for much longer, and she can't stay.”

Yami no Yugi could hear the lump in her throat.

“So go and say goodbye, properly, the way that she wanted.”

Yami no Yugi glanced over his shoulder at her.  He wanted to thank her.  To hug her, comfort her, something.  But she was right.  There wasn't much time.

So he just nodded, to her, to Dawn, to Yugi, to his friends.

And he walked towards the Christmas tree.

It seemed to take a lifetime to get there.  Weaving around people.  The world in slow, cold motion, his breath leaving puffs in the air.  But then, he was there.  At the base of the tree, standing beside Seto, staring at the deep green branches littered with ornaments and lights and streamers and sparkles.

Seto did not look down at him, but Yami no Yugi knew that he knew he was there.  After a beat...

“You're waiting too?” Seto asked.

Yami no Yugi nodded.  Seto let out a soft grunt.

Kisara appeared first.

One moment, she wasn't there, and the next, she was, her hand sliding into Seto's and sighing as she rested her head against her shoulder.  Her hair shifted in the light, like platinum wires reflecting metallic into the air.  Cold, beautiful, but present and close and comforting, like snow.

Seto didn't immediately acknowledge her except to tighten his hand on hers.  But he slowly dropped his head to lean on hers, and sighed deeply.

“I'm sorry,” Kisara said.

“Don't spend this time apologizing.  Got it?”

She just nodded.

And then Yami no Yugi was distracted, because he felt a warm hand slip into his and he turned around to meet her emerald eyes.

She smiled, her whole face lighting up in that way that only she could.  Before either of them could pause, they were leaning forward and pressing their lips against each other, hands sliding around each other's waists, tightening, melding them together in this warm embrace, a spot of glorious desert heat in the middle of the winter's cold.

They broke apart as one, gently gasping for breath.

“I remember now,” she said.  “I came here to meet you again.”

“I remember at least some,” he murmured back.  “Enough to know how much I loved you then.  How much I love you now.”

She buried her face into his chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered.  “Thank you so much for coming for me.  For seeing me again.  For not giving up on me.”

“Thank  _ you _ ,” he said.  “Thank you for coming all this way for me.  For letting me know...that there was something, at least, in my past that I can look forward to remembering fully again.”

She settled more deeply into his arms.  He could feel her tears staining his chest.

“I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” he said.  Even if he couldn't remember, he had missed her.  Missed this feeling, this hole of not knowing.  She had filled at least part of it.  “I'll miss you when you leave.”

She laughed but it was choked.

“Then don't make me wait too long before you come home, okay?”

“Promise.”

Yami no Yugi heard the crunch of boots coming a bit closer and glanced up.  Cadence hovered at a distance, Dawn at her side.  Mana drew a bit away to follow Yami no Yugi's gaze.  Yami no Yugi pushed her gently.

“Go,” he said.  “Say goodbye to your friends, too.  Okay?”

Mana nodded.  She stepped back from Yami no Yugi and towards Cadence.  Dawn pushed Cadence forward.  Cadence stumbled towards Mana, awkward, wringing her hands, chewing on her lip, her glasses growing steamed with uncried tears.

“Mana,” she said.  “Oh Mana, I—I'm sorry that I—”

Mana hugged her.  Tightly, suffocatingly.  Cadence oofed a moment, but then she was hugging Mana back, tears rolling down her face and horrible wrenching sobs wracking her body.

“You were the best friend I ever had, I—thank you, Mana, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“I'll miss you,” Mana said, her voice choked.  “I'll miss you so much.  You were my best friend, and I'm so glad—so glad I got to meet you.”

They hugged for another long, sobbing moment.  Yami no Yugi felt his own tears starting to come.  He wasn't ready.  He wasn't ready for this.  He looked away for a moment, and saw behind him, Seto and Kisara were kissing deeply, Kisara gripping his hands between hers.  He had never seen Seto look so calm and peaceful in the entire time he had known him.  It was...nice.  But it was sad, and he felt his heart wrench.

Mana finally drew away from Cadence.  She cupped Cadence's face in her hand for one moment.

“Take care of yourself...okay?”

Cadence nodded, hiccuping with her sob.

“Promise you'll take care of yourself?” Mana said.

“Promise,” Cadence said, briefly gripping Mana's hand against her face.

And then she let go, and she stepped back.  Mana glanced at Dawn, her hands gripping in front of her.

“Thank you for helping me with everything,” Mana said.  “It was...nice to be able to hang out with you.  Without you being a Duel Spirit and all.”

Dawn smiled.

“I'm just glad that I got to see you smile again,” she said, taking Mana's hands in hers.  “And we'll always be friends, Mana.  I'll see you again, very soon, probably.  I can come visit whenever you want me too.”

Mana nodded, her eyes filled with tears.

“I guess I just liked being a normal girl with you,” she said.  “In a normal world with a normal school and normal things, and...thank you, Dawn.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Dawn smiled and kissed Mana's hand briefly.

“Thank  _ you _ ,” she said.

And she stepped back.  For a moment, Yami no Yugi could see her as she was meant to be, with her upturned hat and her blue and pink dress and the wand in her hand, but then she was just Dawn again.

“The dream is almost over,” she said.  “So make it good.”

She took Cadence's hand and drew her gently away.

Mana turned back to Yami no Yugi.  Was he imagining it, or did she look somehow transparent?

“Yami,” she said.  “I wish...I wish I could say your real name, just once.”

“I wish I could hear you say it,” he said.

She stepped forward into his arms again.  He held her, tightly, feeling the tremble go through her, starting to see the world through her as though she were fading like smoke.

“We—we had a good time, didn't we?” Mana said.

“We did,” Yami no Yugi said.  “A really, really good time.”

He was crying.  He couldn't stop himself, the tears were rolling down his cheeks and he could hardly breathe for the sobs he was trying to hold in.

“I'm glad that we got to have a good time again.”

“Me too.  I'm so glad.”

“Let's have lots more good times someday.  Promise?”

He nodded, and she looked up at him, her face almost completely see through.

“Promise,” he said.

They kissed one last time, as though trying to imprint her on him.

And then she was simply no longer in his arms anymore.  He opened his eyes, and she wasn't there.

He looked down at his hands.  They were pale once again.  He could sense Yugi shifting in the back of his mind.

_ “Was it enough?” _ Yugi asked.

Yami no Yugi touched his lips—no, they were Yugi's lips now, but he could still Mana's touch there.  His hand dropped to his side.  He nodded.

“It was enough.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ambrosia = your love is reciprocated


	26. The Scarlet Red Chrysanthemum

“I  _ am _ sorry,” she said.

“And I've told you already, you don't have to be.”

Cadence twisted her skirt between her hands, staring down at the ground.  Behind them, the train track road blocks were swinging down, the lights flashing and the bell ringing.  There was no steam train coming into the station this time...it seemed that, too, had been a part of Mana's dream, a false addition to her false world that she had built for them.

“Man,” Jonouchi said, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Can't even believe all that happened.  And I missed most of it!!  Ugh.”

Anzu smacked him on the shoulder lightly.

“And what would you have done?  This was something Mana wanted to do for Yugi.  We didn't really have a place in it.”

Jonouchi shrugged, muttering to himself.  Ryo, for his part, looked quickly and pointedly down at the sidewalk.  He had been acting more distant from them since everything had come to an end...Yami no Yugi wondered if he blamed himself for anything that happened.  Well...they could talk more about it later.  It wasn't Ryo's fault.  And they had won in the end, so everything was fine—there was the matter of trying to make sure Yami no Bakura didn't take over Ryo  _ again _ , but that was, once again, something they could handle later, on the plane ride home, perhaps.

Cadence finally lifted her eyes up to the group, sighing.

“It was...an interesting Christmas, wasn't it?” she murmured.

Yami no Yugi had to smile.

“It definitely was.”

His smile faded, then.

“What will you do now?  Mana and Dawn have both left...”

Dawn had disappeared right after the dream ended, at the same time as Mana.  Darcy had as well, the real doctor of the town reappearing as though nothing had happened, in that house that had once been Mana's.  Yami no Yugi regretted not being able to say goodbye to them...but he thought, he would see them again.  He gripped his deck box for reassurance, almost imagining he could feel their souls beating within.

Cadence just shook her head.

“I'll live on, I suppose,” she said.  “After all that's happened...I suppose I could do with a normal existence.”

She bit her lip.

“I'll go on trying to be as kind as she was,” she said.

Yami no Yugi nodded.  He had thought something of the same.  Her eyes lifted to his.

“What about you?” she said.  “What will you do?”

Yami no Yugi's eyes lifted towards the sky, where it was as clear and blue as the desert horizon he had seen in his memory with Mana.

“The same,” he said.  “And I'll work harder than ever to remember...to remember everything about her.  About who I was...and who we were.”

He let his eyes fall back to her, and she smiled, a quiet, tired smile, as she nodded.  She extended a hand towards him.  The train was pulling into the station behind them.

“Thank you,” she said.  “I'll never forget you...and how you helped me, and Mana.”

Yami no Yugi took her hand and they gripped hands for a moment, smiling at each other.

“And I'll never forget you, either,” Yami no Yugi said.  “Thank you.”

She laughed.

“I don't deserve any of your thanks...but I will accept them.”

They released each other's hands, and Yami no Yugi stepped back.

“We'd better go,” he said.

She nodded.

“Let me know when you arrive, so I know you're all safe...it would be horrible to go through all of that and then not make it back home.”

Yami no Yugi had to laugh a bit.

“We'll do that.”

Cadence gripped her arm to her side, biting her lip.  They all just stood there for a moment, no one talking, no one moving.

“We're going to miss the train,” Seto shouted from the across the terminal, where he was already climbing on board.

Cadence dropped her eyes to the ground.

“Well...this is goodbye then.”

Yami no Yugi nodded.  Cadence looked like she might be on the verge of tears, but she rubbed at the corner of her eye briefly and put on an unaffected expression, like the one he had first seen her with, back when she had hated him.

“You should—”

She stopped when Anzu stepped forward and hugged her, quick, tight, breath-taking.  Cadence oofed and her glasses went askew.

“M-Mazaki...” she said.

“Call me, okay?” Anzu said, stepping back, holding her shoulders.  “I don't want you to feel lonely.”

“Yeah!” said Jonouchi.  “You know, we're you're friends now, even if we're across the ocean!  So don't you forget it!”

Cadence stared at them.  And then she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.

“You're all ridiculous,” she said.  “....thank you.”

“Is the geek squad coming, or am I finally going to be rid of you?” Seto shouted from a train window.

“Good bye,” Yami no Yugi said again.  Yugi popped into control for a moment.  “Goodbye, Cadence!  Don't be a stranger, okay?  Come visit sometime!” he said.

“I will,” Cadence said.

Jonouchi tugged gently on Yami no Yugi's arm as Yugi gently let him slip back into control.  Yami no Yugi almost hesitated a moment longer, eyes meeting Cadence's.

There was something there, between them, he thought.  Something that passed among them, something that only they shared.  Both of them had said goodbye to the one they loved today.  Both of them had shared the same feelings for the same person.  There was a connection there because of it.  A bond that, he thought, wouldn't be broken easily.

“Goodbye,” he said, one last time.

She just smiled, and waved as Jonouchi half dragged Yami no Yugi towards the train where the doors were just starting to close.

They made it up the steps just in time, panting for breath.  Yami no Yugi rested his hands on his knees for a moment to catch his breath—then he popped up and ran to a set of seats, so he could lean against the window and pull it open, leaning out to see Cadence.

She was still there, waving with her whole arm, looking more expressive than he had ever seen her.  She was definitely crying this time, the tears rolling down her cheeks even as she smiled the biggest smile he had ever seen.

“Don't you dare forget her!” she shouted.  “Don't you dare!”

“Never, ever, ever!” he shouted back, waving.  “Don't you either!”

“Wouldn't  _ dream _ of it!”

The train was starting to move, and they were passing her.

And that was when the last thought occurred to him.  One final, niggling piece that he had forgotten.

“Cadence!” he shouted, leaning so far out the window that he was almost falling out.  Jonouchi swore and grabbed his waist.  “What about Dominic??  Don't forget to tell him what happened!!”

Cadence paused in the middle of waving, but the train was already moving, almost out of earshot, when he heard the last, shocking words from Cadence's mouth.

_ “Who's Dominic?” _

_. . . _

Not a single person saw the boy sitting under the Christmas tree.  Not because they weren't looking.  But, well, because he wasn't there.

Dominic McGuire kicked his feet back and forth, head tilted back to stare at the star on top of the tree behind him.

“It needs more flowers,” he said.  “Christmas is nice, but there are not enough  _ flowers _ .”

“Are you still on about that?”

Dominic's eyes dropped down from the tree to see Dawn standing on the sidewalk, arms folded.  People moved around her almost instinctively, even though their eyes slid over her as though she wasn't there.  Her thick, dark blue coat stuck out starkly against the white of the snow that scattered the buildings with a light dust.

“You're still in your Risgate clothes,” he said.

“It's cold,” she said, sniffing.  “You're still in...whatever that form is you're wearing.”

Dominic laughed, kicking his feet hard enough to toss snow into the air.

“You even fooled me,” she said.  “I had no idea you were here.”

“I'm good at that,” he said, bouncing to his feet and humming softly.  “What?  Are you upset?”

She blew out.

“No,” she said.  “But I would have liked to know...”

“Well, you know now—I'm the one that made the dream for Mana.  When she asked, I couldn't very well say no.”

“I should have known,” she said, rolling her eyes.  “The flowers—you were too obsessed with flowers.”

Dominic—or was he Dominic?—just laughed again.  Then he turned around once, and the next moment, he was instead a dark-skinned figure, short and clad all in white, long auburn hair spilling over shoulders and rippling to black.  They plucked at the snow and pulled up a lotus in their hand, cupping briefly.

“This wasn't easy, I'll have you know,” they said.  “Especially in the winter.  Not enough  _ flowers _ .  And poinsettias barely count.  So many of them are fake nowadays.”

“Lotus Magician,” Dawn grumbled.  “I really, really should have known.”

Lotus Magician winked.

“But you didn't,” they said.  “So I'd call this a success!”

They hummed briefly.  Then they dropped the lotus and it dissolved into a scatter of snow dust that puffed into the face of an unsuspecting passerby.  The woman looked up at the sky with surprise, as though wondering if it had started to snow.

“We don't have any more time on this plane,” Lotus Magician said.  “We should head off, shouldn't we?”

“I suppose we should,” Dawn said.

She glanced back at the small town, eyes softening with sadness.

“It was...good while it lasted, right?” she said.

Lotus Magician's smile fell a bit too.  And then they smiled again, a distant, nostalgic smile.

“Yes,” they said.  “It was...really good.”

They extended a hand to Dawn.

“Come on...we have a lot more work to do, now that this is finished satisfactorily.”

Dawn sighed, and took their hand.

As one, they disappeared.

A flutter of lotus petals drifted like snow where they had been before, littering the ground.  It would not be long before the wind took them and threw them to the sky.  Faded away, like the final dream.

Somewhere, in another world, a young girl breathed out one final sound into the dissolving dream.

_ I'll see you soon. _


	27. ~epilogue~ Lotus at the End of the Dream

_ Ten Years Later _

Mutou Yugi walked down the busy New York street, tapping out a message to Anzu on his phone.  Even in the middle of the day, lights shone everywhere, blinding him with advertisements and movie stars and news announcements.  There was a constant hum of traffic and chatter as people talked or shouted into phones, a pair of kids rocked out to a pounding boombox across the street, and a street artist was hard at work on a mural.  

His meeting at the museum had run a bit later than usual, and what with the subway being the way it was today, it was going to take him some time to get back to the hotel....hopefully he'd be back in time for their dinner reservations, but just in case, he wanted her to know the situation.

He sighed, tucking his phone back into his pocket.  He had a  _ headache _ .  Dealing with that Dr. Penn could do that to him...nothing but one condescending remark about Yugi's history of games book after the other.  If only that stuck up prick knew just what crazy shit Yugi had been through...he wouldn't be laughing then...

“Oof!'

Yugi stumbled as something small bumped past him, causing him to stumble and turn slightly.

“Sorry!” squeaked a voice as the small figure scurried past.

Yugi barely had the time to get his bearings as another short figure bolted past.

“Hey, wait up!  We're supposed to stay  _ together— _ Mana!”

Yugi paused in the middle of smiling at the rambunctious kids.  He froze.

What?

He whipped around, squinting through the ground, pushing up onto his tiptoes to see.  He pushed to the side, getting some dirty looks from people he cut off as he clambered up onto a bench for extra height.

The girl spun to a stop, skirt swishing, facing the boy as he stumbled to put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.  She giggled at him—oh.  Oh, he knew that face, and that smile.  He knew the bend of that boy's back and the spike of his hair and the tan of his skin.

“Eeee you're such a slowpoke!” the girl laughed.  “Come on, come on, we're going to miss the whole music festival!”

“M-my dad s-said to stay together!” the other, all too familiar voice panted as he straightened up.  “You're going to get lost!”

“Awww are you scared Temmy?”

“D-don't call me that...” he mumbled, blushing.

He knew those crimson eyes, and those emerald ones, he knew them so well that his heart almost stopped.

He was drawing weird looks from people because he was standing on the bench, but he didn't even notice.

The girl grabbed the boy's hand and started to jog backwards, pulling him along with her.

“Come on, come on, come on!  I don't want to miss anything!”

“Okay, okay, but stay with me this time!  Geez!”

Yugi stood there on the bench for a long time after the pair had disappeared into the crowd.

He wondered, for a moment, if he was dreaming.

Slowly, slowly, he sank down onto the bench and slumped back against it, his head leaning back.  He closed his eyes and let the breeze tickle through his hair, sucking in deep breaths of cool spring air.

Perhaps it  _ had _ just been a dream, seeing the two of them.

But then again, weren't the best dreams the ones that were real? 

He opened his eyes up towards the sky.

“You did good, other me,” he whispered.  “You did...really good.”

_ The best dreams stay with us forever, don't they? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lotus = rebirth


End file.
